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V 


HISTORY 


OF 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 


IN  INDIANA. 


IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 


VOLUME    I. 


ILLUSTRATED^ 


Edited  and   Compiled    by  Col.  Charles  Blanciiard. 


LOGANSPORT.  IXD. 

A.  W.  BOWEN  &  CO. 
1898. 


FROM   THE  PRESS  OF  WILSON,  HUMPHREYS  &  CO., 
FOURTH  ST.,  LOGANSPORT,  IND. 


PRBFACE. 


HE  Publishers  offer  this  history  of  the  CathoHc  Church  in 
Indiana,  two  volumes,  to  the  public,  but  especially  to  the 
Catholics  of  the  state,  conscious  that  while   it   may  not 
prove  to  be  all  that  might  have  been  expected,  it  is  never- 
theless meritorious  in   that  through    much   labor  and  research   a 
degree  of  completeness  and  exactness  has  been  attained. 

Nothing  of  great  importance  has  been  overlooked  or  minimized 
nor  has  any  considerable  number  of  lesser  matters  been  either 
neglected  or  exaggerated.  Facts  and  events  are  eloquent  even 
when  simply  narrated,  and  they  are  argumentative,  too,  when  pre- 
sented in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect.  As.  set  forth  in  this 
history  they  tell  of  a  Providence  that  directs  the  affairs  of  the  church 
and  bids  Christians  hope  for  the  increase  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
on  earth. 

Being  connected  even  as  instruments  in  the  furtherance  of 
these  things — -a  great  distinction  when  properly  considered — may 
we  not  indulge  the  hope  also  that  our  labors  may  meet  with  the 
approval  and  receive  the  substantial  support  of  those  in  whose 
interests  they  have  been  performed  ? 

The  history  proper  was  prepared  by  Mr.  M.  W.  Carr,  of 
Indianapolis,  and  Rev.  Bonaventure  Hammer,  of  LaFayette,  ably 
assisted  by  Very  Rev.  Chancellor  Denis  O'Donaghue,  rector  of  St. 
Patrick's  church.  Indianapolis.      The  parochial  sketches,  mentions 

(iil) 


PREFACE. 

of  educational  institutions  and  biographies  were  written  by  others, 
prominent  among  whom  we  may  mention  Prof.  James  F.  Edwards, 
of  the  university  of  Notre  Dame,  Rev.  H.  Meissner,  of  the  church 
of  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  Peru,  and  the  \'ery  Rev.  M.  E.  Campion, 
of  the  church  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Logansport. 

We  also  acknowledge  our  indebtedness  for  valuable  assistance 
to  the  clergy  of  the  state,  and  especially  to  the  right  reverend  bishops 
of  Indianapolis  and  Ft.  Wayne,  whose  generous  letters  of  approval 
and  commendation  are  here  appended. 

A.  W.  BOWEX  lS:  Co., 
Logansport,  December,  1898.  Publishers. 


LETTERS  OF    APPROVAL  AND   COMMENDATION   BV  RKiHT   REV.  BISHOPS  CHATARD 

AND     RADEMACHER. 

A.    W.    BOWEN   &   Co. 

Dear  Sirs:— 

Having  been  informed  that  you  contemplate  publishing  a 
history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Indiana,  and  on  a  plan  which  promises  to  be  of 
value,  from  exact  statistical  information  from  authentic  sources,  I  hereby  express 
my  best  wishes  for  your  success.  Yours  faithfully, 

t  F.  S.  CHATARD, 
Indianapolis,  P'ebruary  18,  18!'7.  Bih/iop  of  Vincennes. 


A.  \V.  BowEN  &  Co. 

Dear  Sirs: — 
*        *        *     I,  therefore,  take  pleasure  in  giving  my  cordial  approbation  to 
your  project,  and  in  recommending  it  to  the  liberal  patronage  of  our  people.    With 
sentiments  of  sincere  esteem,  Yours  respectfully, 

t  JOS.  RADEMACHER, 
Ft.  Wayne,  July  23,  1897.  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne. 


(iv) 


OOIMTTH^NT^S— VOI^.  I 


PAGES 

Chapter  I.— Preliminary  Reflections — St.  Brendan,  an  Irish  Monk,  the 
First  Discoverer  ot  America — The  Country  Cathohc  by  Discovery 
— Exploration  and  Christianization 21-30 

Chapter  II.— Obstacles  to  the  Spread  of  Catholicity  in  the  United  States 
— British  Penal  Laws  follow  Catholics  to  America — Catholics  vs.  Pro- 
testants for  Liberty  of  Conscience 31-41 

Chapter  III.— Early  Pastors— Papal  Bull  Creating  the  Diocese  of  V'in- 
cennes — Consecration  and  Installation  of  Bishop  Brute — His  First 
Pastoral  Letter 42-60 

Chapter  VI. — Administration  of  Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere,  Second  Bishop 
of  Vincennes — The  First  Diocesan  Synod — The  Bishop's  Resignation 
— His  Death — Bishop  Bazin's  Short  Reign 61-74 

Chapter  V.— Right  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais,  Fourth  Bishop  of  \'in- 
cennes — State  of  the  Diocese  in  1849 — The  Bishop's  Labors  and  their 
Rich  Rewards — His  Death  and  Characteristics 75-90 

Chapter  VI.— Right  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard,  Fifth  Bishop  of  Vincennes 
— His  Consecration,  Reception  and  Installation — Twenty  years  of 
Progress — Diocese  of  Indianapolis 93-105 

Chapter  Vll.—Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard,  Fifth  Bishop 
of  the  Diocese  of  Vincennes,  now  the  Diocese  of  Indianapolis — His 
First  Pastoral  Letter  Sent  from  Rome 106-115 

Chapter  VIII. — Extracts  from  Bishop  Chatard's  Lectures  on  Very  Impor- 
tant Subjects  which  will  be  found  both  Instructive  and  Edifying  for 
both  Catholics  and  non-Catholics   116-131 

Chapter  IX.— Diocese  of  Fort  Wayne— Early  Times— Fathers  Claude 
Allouez,  Adrian  Grelon,  Lewis  Hennepin — LaSalle,  the  Explorer — 
Father  Stephen  Theodore  Badin — The  Diocese  of  Bardstown,  Ky., 
etc 132-150 

Chapter  X.— The  Deceased   Bishops — John  Henry  Luers — His  Life  and 

Services — Joseph  Dwenger  and  his  Long  Administration 151-178 

(7) 


CONTENTS — VOL.    I. 

PAGfiS 
Chapter  XI. — The  present  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne — The  Right  Rev.  Bishop 

Rademacher,  D.  D. — His  Admirable  Administration 181-189 

Chapter  XII.— The  Deceased  Vicars-General  of  Fort  Wayne  Diocese — 

Julian  Benoit— Joseph  Henry  Brammer 190-217 

Chapter  XIII. — The  Catholic  Churches  in  the  .State  of  Indiana — The 
Priests  in  Charge  and  their  Congregations — Historical  and  Statistical 
Facts 218  481 

Chapter  XIV. — Bishop   Brute,  the  Father  of  Free-school  Education  in 

Indiana — Catholic  Education  and  Parochial  Schools 482-535 

Chapter  XV. — The  Higher  Order  of  Catholic  Educational  Institutions  of 

Indiana — Academies,  Colleges,  Universities,  etc 536-581 

Chapter  XVI. — Monasteries,  Convents  and  other  Catholic  religious  houses 

in  the  State  of  Indiana 582-604 

Chapter  XVII.^Catholic  Charities — Hospitals,Orphanages  and  other  elee- 
mosynary Institutions  in  the  State 605-615 

Chapter  XVII  (continued). — Catholic  Sodalities  and  Fraternal  Organiza- 
tions— Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians — Catholic  Knights  of  America — 
American  Sons  of  Columbus — Catholic  Benevolent  Legion — Young 
Men's  Institute 616-652 

Chapter  XVIII. — The  Spanish  Inquisition  not  a  Church  Institution  but  a 
State  Court — Falsehoods  and  Misrepresentations  Published  by 
so-called  Historians 652-673 

Chapter  XIX. — Retrospect,  Summary  andConclusion — The  Spiritual,  Edu- 
cational and  Material  Progress  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  State  of 
Indiana 674-680 


(vi) 


i]mob:?c— voi^.  I 


Allouez,  Father  Claude. .  132-135-137 
Annalists.  The 25 

Radin,  Rev.  S.  T.,  Biography.. .  .      143 

Badin,  Death  of  Father 148 

Balboa,  Discoverer  of  the  Pacific 

Ocean 30 

Bazin,  Administration  of  Bishop 

Johns 70 

Bazin,  Biography  of  Bishop  John 

S. 73 

Bazin,   Consecration    of    Bishop 

John  S 68 

Benoit,  Biography  of  Right  Rev. 

Julian,  V.  G \ 190 

Benoit,   Builder  of   Fort   Wayne 

Cathedral 196 

Benoit,  Confirmed  Vicar-General  197 
Benoit,  Death  of  Vicar-General..  201 
Benoit,  Early  Labors  of  Father. .  193 
Benoit,  Eulogy  by  Bishop  Dwen- 

ger 204 

Benoit,  Indians'  Affection  for. . . .     195 
Benoit,  Investiture  of  Father. . . .     198 
Bessonies,  Very  Rev.  Aug.,  Ad- 
dress of   Welcome  to  Bishop 

Chatard   by 96 

Bessonies,  Very  Rev.  Aug.,  Ap- 
pointed Administrator    of  the 

Diocese  of  Vincennes 80 

Bessonies,  Right  Rev.  Mgr.,  Ap- 
pointed Domestic  Prelate  to  the 

Pope 104 

Bessonies,  Aug.  Golden  Jubilee  of  105 
Brammer,    Biography    of     Very 

Rev.  Joseph  H 212 

Brammer,  Death  of 217 

Brammer,  Founder  of  St.  Vincent 

de  Paul  Society  at  Fort  Wayne     216 
Brammer's  Personal  Characteris- 
tics      215 

Brandon   Hill,   Ireland,  the  See 

founded  by  St.  Brendan 28 

Brendan,    Saint,    Discoverer    of 

America 21 

Brut^,  Appointment  of  Bishop . . .  142 
Brute,  Biography  of 59 


Brutii,  Death  and  Burial  of  Bish- 
op        59 

Brute's  Educational  Enterprises.      58 

Brute's  F^irst  Pastoral  Letter 51 

Brute's  First  Pontifical  Mass  at 

Vincennes 55 

Brute's    Travel     of     Inspection 
through  Half  his  Diocese 56 

Carroll,  Bishop,  Thoughts  on  Re- 
ligious Enfranchisement 85 

Cartier  and   Champlain,  P^rench 

Explorers  of  Canada 30 

Cathedral,  Erection  of    the   Fort 

Wayne 161 

Catholic  Churches  of  Indiana...     218 
Anderson  township, Perry  coun- 
ty—St. Mark's  218 

Albion,  Noble  county — Sacred 

Heart 218 

Anderson,    Madison    county — 

St.  Mary's 219 

Auburn,  De  Kalb  county — Im- 
maculate Conception 220 

Aurora,  Dearborn  county — Im- 
maculate Conception 221 

Avilla,  Noble  county — Assump- 
tion of  the  B.  V.  M 228 

Barr  township,  Daviess  county 

-St.  Mary's 224 

Batesville,  Ripley  county— St. 

Louis' 225 

Besancon,    Allen    county — St. 

Louis' 225 

Bloomington,  Monroe  county — 

St.  Charles  Borromeo 226 

Bradford,    Harrison    county — 

St.  Michael's 227 

Brazil,  Clay  county — Annunci- 
ation       229 

Bremen,  Marshall  county — St. 

Dominic's 230 

Brightwood,   M.irion    coun'y — • 

St.  Francis  de  Sales' 230 

Brookville,  Franklin  county — 

St.  Michael's 232 


(vii) 


INDEX — VOL.    I. 


Brownsbur^,  Hendricks  county 

— St.  Malachy's 266 

Cambridtre  City,  Wayne  coun- 

ty  -St.  Elizabeth's 233 

Cannelton,   Perry   county— St. 

Michael's -^'^ 

Cedar  Grove,  P>anklin  county 

—Holy  Guardian  Angels'.     236 
Celestine,   Dubois  county— St. 

Peter's  Ccelestin 237 

Columbus,  Bartholomew  coun- 
ty—St. Bartholomew's 239 

Connersville.  Fayette  county— 

St.  Gabriel's 240 

Covington,  Fountain   county— 

St.  Joseph's 241 

Crawfordsville,      Montgomery 

county— St.   Bernard's....     242 
Crown    Point,   Lake    county— 

St.  Mary's •  •■.     242 

Daviess  county,  Churches  in. .     243 
Decatur,    Adams    county— St. 

M  ary 's 249 

Dover,   Dearborn    county — St. 

John  the  Baptist's . .     251 

Dubois  county— St.  Anthony's.    252 

St.  Henry's 253 

Dyer,    Lake     county— St.    Jo- 
seph's      254 

Earl  Park,  Benton  county— St. 

John  the  Baptist's 254 

Ege,  Noble   county— Immacu- 
late Conception 254 

Elkhart,    PLlkhart   county— St. 

Vincent  de  Paid 255 

Elwood,  Madison   county— St. 

Joseph's 257 

Enochsburg,  Franklin  county 

—  St.  John's 258 

Evansville,  Vanderburg  coun- 
ty—Assumption       258 

Holy  Trinity 261 

St.  Marv's 264 

St.  Boniface's 265 

Sacred  Heart '^^68 

St.  Anthony's 270 

Ferdinand,  Dubois  county— St. 

Ferdinand's  273 

Floyd's   Knobs,  Floyd   county 

—St.  Mary's  Assumption..     274 
Fort   Wayne,   Allen    county- 
Immaculate  Conception.. .     274 

Mother  of  God 276 

St.  Paul's 279 

St.  Peter's 280 

St.  Patrick's 281 

Frankfort,  Clinton  county— St. 

Mary's 282 

Frenchtown,  Harrison   county 

—St.  Bernard's 283 


P'ulda,     Spencer    county— St. 

I^oniface's 284 

Fulton  county— St.  Ann's 286 

Garrett,  De  Kalb  county— SS. 

Peter  and  Paul's 285 

Goshen,    Elkhart    county— St. 

John's 287 

Greenca.stle,  Putnam  county— 

St.  Paul  the  Apostle 289 

Greensburg,  Decatur  county— 

St.  Mary's 291 

Hamburg,   Franklin   county— 

St.  Ann's 291 

Hammond,  Lake    county— St. 

Joseph's 292 

St.  Casimer's  (Polish) 292 

Hanover  Center,  Lake  county 

—St.  Martin's 293 

Hartford  City,  Blackford  coun- 
ty— St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist's      294 

Haubstadt,Gibson  county— SS. 

Peter  and  Paul 295 

Henryville,  Dubois  county— St. 

Francis  Xavier 295 

Hesse  Cassel,  Allen  county— 

St.  Joseph's 296 

Hobart,  Lake  county— St.  Brid- 
get's      296 

Huntingburg,  Dubois  county- 
Visitation  B.  V.  M 297 

Huntington,  Huntington  coun- 
ty—St.  Mary's 298 

SS.  Peter  and  Paul's 300 

Indianapolis,  Marion  county- 
Assumption  303 

St.  Anthony's 303 

St.  Bridget's 304 

Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus 305 

St.  John's  313 

St.  Joseph's 315 

St   Mary's 317 

St.  Patrick's 320 

Ireland,    Dubois     county— St. 

Mary's  321 

Jasper,  Dubois  county— St.  Jo- 
seph's   322 

Jeffersonville,  Clark   county— 

St.  Anthony's 324 

St.  Augustine's ._ 326 

Jennings  county — St.  Ann's. . .  329 
Kendallville,    Noble  county- 
Immaculate  Conception..  331 
Kentland,  Newton  county— St. 

Joseph's 331 

Klaasville,    Lake    county— St. 

Anthony  de  Padua 332 

Knox  county— St.  Rose 333 

St.  Thomas 333 


(viii) 


INDEX — VOL   I. 


Kokomn,  Howard    county— St. 

ratrick's 334 

LaFayette,  Tippecanoe  county 

—St.  Mary's 83fi 

St.  Boniface's 339 

St.  Ann's 343 

St.  Lawrence's 346 

LaGro,    Wabash     county — St. 

Patrick's 347 

Laporte,    Laporte   county— St 

Joseph's 349 

St.  Peter's 349 

Laud    (Nix    Settlement),    Wit- 
ley  county — St.  Catherine's     350 
Lawrenceburg,  Dearborn  coun- 
ty— St.  Lawrence's 351 

Lebanon,    Boone    county — St. 

Jochim's 354 

Leopold,     Perry     county— St. 

Augustine's 355 

Legonier,    Noble     county — St. 

Patrick's 355 

Logansport,  Cass   county — St. 

Vincent  de    Paul 356 

St.  Joseph's 358 

St.  Bridget's  360 

Loogootee,  Martin  county — St. 

John's 361 

Lowell,   Lake   county — Lowell 

Parish 364 

Madison,  Jefferson  county — St. 

Mary's 364 

St.  Michael's 366 

Maria  Hill,   Spencer   county — 

Help  of  Christian's 369 

Marion,      Grant      county — St. 

Paul's 407 

Martin  county — St.  Joseph's...     370 

St.  Martin's 371 

Millersburg,  Elkhart  county — 

St.   Henry's 373 

Millhousen,  Decatur   county — 

Immaculate  Conception.  ..     373 
Mishawaka,  St.  Joseph  county 

—St.  Joseph's 374 

Monroeviile,  Allen  county — St. 

Rose  of  Lima   375 

Montgomery,  Daviess  county — 

St.  Peter's 376 

Monterey,  Pulaski   county — St. 

Ann's 380 

Morris,  Ripley  county— St.  An- 
thony's      380 

Mount  Pleasant,  Martin  county 

—Haw  Creek 382 

Mt.  Vernon,  Posey  county — St. 

Matthew's 383 

Muncie,  Delaware  county — St. 

Lawrence's 384 

Napoleon,  Ripley  county— St. 


Maurice's ,386 

Navilleton,  Floyd    county     St. 

Mary's  387 

New  Albany,    Floyd   county — 

Holy  Trinity 389 

Church  of  the  Annunciation     390 

New  Alsace,  Dearborn    county 
—St.  Paul's 392 

New  Haven, Allen  county — St. 

John  the  Baptist's 393 

Nix  Settlement,  Whitley  coun- 
ty—St. Catherine's 350 

North  Madison,Jefferson  coun- 
ty—St.  Patrick's ,393 

North  Vernon,  Jennings  coun- 
ty  -St.  Mary's 394 

Obertsville,Gibson  county— St. 

Bernard's 395 

Oxford, Benton  county  -St. Pat- 
rick's      396 

Peru, Miami  county-St.Charles 

Borromeo 397 

Plymouth,    Marshall   county — 

St.  Michael's 402 

Portland,  Jay  county — Immac- 
ulate Conception 405 

Prescott,    Shelby    county— St. 

Vincent's 408 

Remington,Jasper  county — St. 

John's  the  Evangelist 409 

Rensselaer,  Jasper  county — St. 

Augustine's 410 

Reynolds,    White  county — St. 

Joseph's 411 

Richland     township,     Benton 

county— St.  Ann's 414 

St.  Mary's 415 

Ripley     county— St      Magda- 

line's \...     416 

Rockville,    Park     county— St. 

Joseph's 417 

Rome  City,  Noble  county— St. 

Peter's 419 

Rushville,Rush  county — Mary 

Immaculate 419 

St.     John,    Lake    county— St. 

John   the  Evangelist 420 

St.  Joseph's  Hill,  Clark  county 

— St.  Joseph's 421 

St.    Leon,  Dearborn    county — 

St.  Joseph's 422 

St.  Maurice,  Decatur  county — 

St.   Maurice's 372 

St.  Peter's,  Franklin  county — 

St.  Peter's 423 

St.    Vincent    de    Paul,   Allen 

county 424 

St.   Wendell,  Posey    county — 

St.  Wendel's 425 


(ix) 


INDEX — VOL.    I. 


Schererville,  Lake  county— St. 

Michael's 427 

Schnellville,   Dubois  county- 
Sacred  Heart 427 

Seymour,  Jackson  county— St. 

Ambrose  428 

Shelbyville.Shelby  county— St. 

Joseph's 429 

Sheldon,     Allen     county— St. 

Alovsius 431 

Shoals,  '  Martin     county  —  St. 

Louis 432 

South  Bend,  St.  Joseph  county 

—St.  Joseph's 433 

St.  Patrick's 436 

St.  Mary's 437 

St.  Hedwig's 438 

Tell    City,    Perry  county— St. 

Paul's 439 

Terre  Haute,  Vigo  county— St. 

Joseph's 440 

St.  Benedict's 447 

St.  Ann's 453 

St.  Patrick's 455 

Tipton,     Tipton     county— St. 

John  the  Baptist 457 

Trov,  Perry  county— St.  Pius.     459 
Turkey  Creek,  Lake  county— 

SS.  Peter  and  Paul's 459 

Union  City,  Randolph   county 

—St.   Mary's 460 

Valparaiso,  Porter  county — St. 

Joseph's 462 

Vanderburg    county — St.    Jo- 
seph's  462 

Vigo  county— St.  Mary's  of  the 

Woods 464 

Vincennes,   Knox   county— St. 

Francis   Xavier 466 

St.  John  the  Baptist 470 

Wabash,  Wabash  county-  -St. 

Bernard's 471 

Wanatah,     Laporte     county- 
Most  Precious  Blood 471 

Warrick  county— St.  John's.. . .     472 
Washington,  Daviess  county— 

St.  Simon's 473 

St.   Mary's 476 

Whiting,  Lake  county— Sacred 

Heart 477 

Winamac,  Pulaski  county— St. 

Peter's 478 

Yankeetown,  Warrick  county— 

St.  Rupert's   479 

Yorkville,   Dearborn   county — 

St.  Martin's 480 

Catholic,  the  Term 26 

Catholic  Toleration  Act  in  Mary- 
land        32 


Cauthorn's  History  of  St.  Fran- 
cis Xavier  Cathedral,  Vin- 
cennes        47 

Charitable  Institutions 605 

St.   Ann's  Providence  Orphan 

Asylum,  Terre  Haute....     614 

St.    Anthony's    Home   for   the 

Aged  Poor 613 

St.    Elizabeth's    Hospital,    La 

Fayette 611 

St.  John's  Hospital  at  Ander- 
son      605 

St.  Joseph's  Hospital  at    Fort 

Wayne 605 

St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  Logans- 
port     614 

St.  Joseph's  Orphan   Asylum, 

La  Fayette 609 

St.  Vincent's  Infirmary  at  In- 
dianapolis        608 

St.     Vincent's    Orphanage   at 

Fort  Wayne 607 

St.  Vincent's  Orphanage,  Vin- 
cennes      615 

Chatard,  Address  of  Welcome  to.      94 

Chatard,  Awards  of  Merit  to 107 

Chatard,  Biography  of 106 

Chatard's       Condemnation       of 

Mixed  Marriages 101 

Chatard,    Bishop    Francis   Silas' 

Consecration 93 

Chatard's  First  Pastoral  Letter. .     109 
Chatard's  First  Sermon  in    Vin- 
cennes        98 

Chatard's  Installment 94 

Chatard's  Lecture  on  Early  Chris- 
tianity      125 

Chatard's  Lecture  on  the  Exist- 
ence of  the  Soul  of  Man 123 

Chatard's  Lecture  on  Tenure  of 

Land  and  Eminent  Domain.  ..     116 
Chatard's    Personal     Character- 
istics      108 

Chatard's  Response  to  the  Ad- 
dress of  Welcome  at  Vin- 
cennes         95 

Chatard's  Response  to  the  Ad- 
dress  of  Very  Rev.  Aug.  Bes- 

sonies 97 

C^hegoimegon  and   Pointe  du  St. 

Esprit   132 

ChineseDiscovery  of  America.. .       21 

Christopher  Columbus 26 

Church  Record,  First  in  Indiana, 

1749 47 

Church,  First  Catholic   on  Lake 

Superior 133 

Community  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
Indianapolis 589 


(X) 


INDEX — VOL.    T. 


Convent  of  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  ;it   Olch^nhur^^ 596 

Convent  of  the  luiniacuhitc  Con- 
ception at  Ferdinand 586 

Convent  of  St.  Joseph  at  Tip- 
ton      601 

Convent  of  the  Sisters  ol  St. 
Francis  at  Oldenburg 596 

Cortez,  Founder  of  Mexico 30 

Declaration     of      Independence 

brings  Religious  Liberty 34 

De  Soto,  Discoverer  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river 30 

Diocese   of  Fort  Wayne— Early 

Times 132 

Diocese  of  Indianaiiolis — Parish- 
es and  Churches  after  the  Ad- 
vent of  Bishop  Chatard 103 

Diocese  of  Vincennes,  Change  of 

Name  to  that  of  Indianapolis.  .      105 
Diocese  of  \'incennes,  Chicago's 

Separation  from 67 

Diocese  of  Vincennes,  Condition 
when  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  took 

Charge 75 

Diocese     of     Vincennes,     First 

Synod  in  the 165 

Diocese  of  \'incennes, Papal  Bull 

creating 50 

Diocese  of  Vincennes,  Progress 
of  and  Quietude  in  the, 
during  Bishop  Chatard's  Ad- 
ministration      102 

Diocese    of    Vincennes,   Second 

Synod  in  the 100 

Double  Tax  for  Education 483 

Dwenger,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph,  Biog- 
raphy of 170 

Dwenger,  Death  of  Bishop 175 

Dwenger's  Trip  to  Europe 171 

Educational  Laws  in  Canada 484 

Educational    Institutions   of  the 

Higher  Order 536 

Holy    Angels    Academy,    Lo- 

gansport 538 

Jasper  College,  Dubois  county    575 

Notre  Dame  University 543 

Our   Lady  of    Loreto  chapel, 

Notre  Dame 568 

St.  Ignatius  Academy,  La  Fay- 
ette      537 

St,  Joseph  College,  Rensselaer    570 
St.    Mary's  Academy,  Indian- 
apolis      536 

St.    Mary's    Academy,    Notre 

Dame 565 

St.  Mary's  Academic  Institute, 

Vigo  county 577 


St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods  estab- 
lished        77 

St.Mcinrad's  College  and  Sem- 
inary, Sjiencer  county 571 

English  Intolerance  of  Cathol- 
icism in  America 39 

English,  Hon.  William  H.'s, 
Opinion  as  to  the  Treat- 
ment of  the  Patriot  Priest 
of  the  West 45 

Flaget,  Rt.  Rev.,  First  Bishop 

of  Kentucky 46 

Free-school  Education  in  In- 
diana        58 

Free-school  Education  in  In- 
diana founded  by  Bishop 
Brute 482 

Gibault,  the  Patriot  Priest  of  the 

West 43 

Golden  Jubilee  of  Pope  LeoXlil  105 

Grelcjn,  Father  A  drian 137 

Guendling,  Rev.  Charles  B 610 

Hailandiere,  Bishop  de  la 62 

Hailandiere,        Biography        of 

Bishop  de  la 69 

Hailandiere,    Death    of    Bishop 

dela 69 

Hailandiere's  Installment 165 

Hailandiere,  The  Resignation  of 

Bishop 69 

Hennepin,  Father  Lewis 137 

La  Salle,  Explorer  of  the  Great 

Lakes 30 

Lief   Erickson,   the    Norseman's 

Discovery  of  America 22 

Lord   Baltimore    and    Religious 

Liberty  in  Maryland 31 

Luers,  Bishop   J.  H.  and,  his  ad- 
ministration      151 

Luers,  Address  of  Bishop,  relat- 
ing to  the  Orphan  Asylum   in 

Jasper  county 167 

Luers,  Biography  of  Bishop 169 

Luers,  Consecration  of  Bishop..  .      156 

Luers,  Death  of  Bishop 169 

Luers'  visit  to  Cleveland 169 

Luers,  visits  of  Bishop,  to  Rome.     164 

Mission,  First  on  White  river.  . .       48 
Monastery  of  the  Poor  Clares. . .     582 

O'Brazil,  the  Enchanted  Land  of 

Beauty 24 

Oddities  of  colonial  legislation.  ..32-38 
O'Donaghue's    Rev.  Denis,    ad- 
dress   of  welcome   to  Bishop 
Chatard 99 


(xi) 


INDEX — VOL.    I. 


O'Donaghue's  (Rev.  D.)  facts  and 
figures 104 

Parishes,  Original,  Priests,  and 
Missions  of  the  old  Diocese  of 
Vincennes 61 

Parochial  schools  alphabetically 
arranged  according  lo  loca- 
tion  487-534 

Parochial  schools  in  the  Diocese 
of  Fort  Wayne 

Parochial  Schools  in  the  Diocese 
of  \'incennes  (Indianapolis)..  . 

Ponce  de  Leon  and  Florida 

Post  (or  fort)  Vincennes — Its 
Early  History   42 

Priests,  Jesuit,  among  the  Indians 
along  the  rivers 48 

Prominent  Catholic  officials  in 
Revolutionary  days 37 

Proscription  of  Catholics  in  New 
York  and  other  states 

Protestant  Inconsistencies  in 
Legislation 

Protestant  Intoleration  in  Mary- 
land  


580 

579 
30 


33 

38 
32 


Radamacher,  Biography  of 
Bishop,  of  Fort  Wayne 181 

Radamacher,  Installation  of,  at 
Fort  Wayne 182 

Radamacher,  Personality  of  . . ..     186 

Radamacher,  Sermon  of  Bishop 
(of  Tenn.),  at  Bishop  Dwenger's 
Obsequies 176 

Retrospect  and  summary  of  the 
contents  of  this  work 674 

St.  Brendan,  the  Irish  Monk  and 


Navigator,  the  First  Discoverer 
of  America 

St.  Palais,  Right  Rev.  Maurice, 
Appointed  Fourth  Bishop  of 
Vin  ennt'S 

St.  Palais,  Maurice  de, Appointed 
vicar-general  by  Bishop   Bazin 

St.  Palais,  Biography  of  Bishop  83- 

St.  Palais  Illness  and  Death  of 
Bishop  de 

St.  Palais,  Bishop  de.  Encourage- 
ment of  Educational,  and 
Eleemosynary  Institutions. . . . 

St.  Palais,  Interment  of  the  Mor- 
tal Remains  of  Bishop  de 

St.    Palais,  Visits  to  Rome 

Sodalities  and  Fraternal  Organ- 
izations  

American  Sons  of  Columbus. .. 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians. 
Catholic  Benevolent  Legion  . . 
Catholic  Knights  of  America. . 
Young  Men's  Institute 

Spanish  Explorers  and  Priests.  . 

Synods — the  Third,  Fourth  and 
Fifth  in  Indiana 

Trading  Posts,  First 

Violation  of  the  Spirit  of  the 
Declaration  by  Protestant 
State  Governments 


21- 


to 

73 
142 

80 


8 


89 
79 

616 
642 
616 
646 
628 
648 
29 

101 
141 


36 


White  Man,  First  in  Indiana  a 
Catholic  Priest 

Washington's  Detestation  of 
Burninij  the  Pope's  in  Effi- 
gy-•■• .-.••• 

Weinzoepfel,    Rev.,     Malicious 

Accusations  against 67 


47 


37 


ILLUSTRATIONS— VOL.   I. 


Rt.  Rev.  John  .S.  Bazin,  \'incennes '^^ 

Rt.  Rev.  Julian  Benoit,  Fort  Wayne l^^l 

Rt.  Rev.  Simon  Gabriel  Brut^,  Vincen  es 53 

Rt.  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard,  Indianapolis 92 

Rt.  Rev.  Celestine  De  La  Hailandiere,  Vincennes 63 

Rt.  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais,  D.  D.,  Vincennes. 


82 

Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  D.  D.,  Fort  Wayne 173 

Rt.  Rev.  J.  H.  Luers,  D.  D.,  Fort  Wayne  159 

Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  D.  D.,  Fort  Wayne 180 

Very  Rev.  J.  H.  Brammer,  Fort  Wayne 213 

Bishop's  Residence,  Fort  Wayne. ......../    Between  188-189 

Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Fort  Wayne  ) 

Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Oldenburg.  (  Between  596-601 

Holy  Family  Church \ 

Immaculate  Conception  Convent,  Ferdinand,  facing 586 

Jasper  College,  Jasper,  facing   575 

Library  Hall,  Fort  Wayne,  facing  216 

St.  Augustine's  Academy,  Fort  Wayne,  facing 499 


(xii) 


ixniix— VOL.    I. 

Interior  St.  Benedict's,  Terre   iiautc Hctween  442  447 

St.  Joseph's  Hall,  Indianaixjlis ;{J4  -^ir^ 

St.  J()sc|)li  s  1  lo.spital,  Fori  Wayne (\()4 

St.  Joseph's  Parsonage,  Indianapolis,  between .','A4  ,31') 

St.  Mary's,  Decatur,  facing 9^cj 

St.  Mary's  Academy,  Notre  Dame  (one  view  in  \'oi.  II) ...... :^y) 

St.  Mary's  Chapel,  Notre  Dame \  '  ' ' ;,(;;{ 

St.  Patrick's  Church,  Indianapolis '    ;^.^'(j 

I'niv  ersity  of  Notre  l)ame hio  }>4\ 


IINLOEZX:— X^OI^.    II 


Al)bink.  B 84 

Adams,  j 47 

Adelsperger,  T....  48 

Adels|)erger,  \V.  J  .  48 

Ahaus,  H 28 

Ahern,  J.  F 20 

Ahlering,  H.  M....  1444 

Alcrding,  H '.iS 

Anderson,  S 24 

Arnold,  S 25 

Arvin,  A 27 

Arvin,  J.  P 28 

Audran,  E 33 

Auer,   R 36 

Baehner,  J 37 

Baker,  J 38 

Baker,  J.   F 39 

Baker,  K 50 

Barber,  S 51  - 

Barnett,   I.   S 1401 

Barrett,  E.  F 57 

Barrett,  J.  F 56 

Barrett,  T.   F 74 

Bartholome,  S 1453 

Bath,  M ,58 

Bath,  S 58 

Bathe,  J.  H 1258 

Bartoszek,  VV ,M) 

Bauer,  F.  A 61 

Bauer,    |.    1 68 

Bauer,  j.  T 60 

Bayard,  J.  L 69 

I^ayer,  J, 70 

Beach,  M.  Mrs 70 

Beadell,  H 71 

Bechtel,  H.  J 72 

Becker,  F.  C 73 

Beckett,  J.  E 77 

Beckmann,  J.  G.  .  .  .  79 

Beckmann,  J.  H 80-81 

Bei.sel,  J.  I    81 

Belledin,  B 78 

Benckhart,  G.  A 83 

Benzinger,  M 1402 

Berens,  C.  J 89 

Berens,  P.  J 90 


Berg,  J.  B 91 

Bessonies,  A 45 

Bey,  A.  VV 92 

Bey,  J 92 

Bever,    | <)4 

Beyer,  j.,Jr 94 

Biederman,  W.  J...  1448 

Biegel,  B 95 

Bilger,  C.  F 95 

Birk,  J 100 

Blank,  J in] 

Bleckmann,  J 101 

Bless,  T.  A 1167 

Bloom,  H.  F.,Mrs..  102 

Blum,  J.  B 103 

Bobilya,  L.  J 104 

Bockting,  H.  H...  Ill 

Bockting,  S Ill 

Boeckelmann,  H.  A  112 

Boersig,  J.  A 113 

Boersig,  J.  H 1398 

Bogeman,  J.  H 119 

Bogeman,  F.  L 113 

Bogemann,  M.  H.  ..  114 

Bohnert,  E.  A 120 

Bonner,  P 121 

Book,  J.  W 62 

Bookage,  H 123 

Boone,    F 122 

Bourgholtzer,  ] 125 

Bouvy,  J.  L..." 134 

Bowen,  P 131 

Bower,  G.   P 133 

Bradley,  M.  A.  Mrs.  132 

Bradley,  J.  R 135 

Bradley,  W 136 

Brannon,  J 141 

Breen.  J.  N 1403 

Breen,  P 137 

Breen,  VV.  P 142 

Breger,  M.W 143 

Brehmer,  C.  A 144 

Bremerkamp,  H.  H.  145 

Brennan,  [.A 151 

Brennan,  W.  H 147 

Brett,  M.  L 1,52 

Brindley,   H.   F....  l.-)4 


I'rockamp,  (.  H.T.  .  1.55 

Bnuieii,  J.." l.")6-157 

Broderick,  T 1,58 

Brokamp,   H.  J 161 

Brouillette,  P 162 

Brown,  VV.  M 167 

Brucker,  \^  J 163 

Brueggemann,  B.  H.  1298 

Bruggner,  D    168 

Brunner,  V 1399 

Buchert,  M 1H9 

15u.hheit,  A.  M.    ...  91 

Buchner,  A.  I 174 

Buckley,].." 175 

Budenz,  H 176 

Bultman,  H.  H 177 

Bultman,  W 178 

Burke.  A 179 

Burke,  J 186 

Burke,  M.  F 191 

Burke,  P.  J 187 

Burkholder,  P.  S...  188 

Burns.  J 193 

Burns,  M.J 199 

Bush,  A.,  Miss 201 

.Bush,  J.,  Miss 201 

Butler,  C.  P    201 

Bverlev,  T.  E.  A.  .  .  206 

Byrne,  J.  F 205 

Byrne,  M.  J 207 

Cahill,  M 213 

Cain,  I.I) 218 

Calhan,  J 214 

Callahan,  C 216 

Callahan,  M 217-225 

Callahan,  T.  E 219 

Calvelage,  A.  H 226 

Campbell,  F 228 

Campbell,  J.  J 1312 

Campbell,  J.  M  .  .    ..  227 

Campbell,  T.  H....  228 

Campion,  M.  E 62 

Caney,  M 229 

Cangany,  P 235 

Cannon,  F 243 

Cantwell,  E.J 236 

.(xiii) 


IXDIIX VOL.     II. 


Cargett,  1.,  Mrs....  237 

Carlon,  j.    M 249 

Carney,  W 250 

Carr,  J.T 251 

Carr,  J.  ¥. 253 

Carr,    M 255 

Carr.  M.  \V 1397 

Carroll,  I    252 

Carroll,  "T.   P 261 

Carson,  \V 275 

Carton,  W.  T 262 

Casev,  T.  P' 263 

Cauthorn,  H.  S   . . .  99 

Cavanaugh.  T.  1 .  .  .  276 

Chartrand,   J  ..'....  268 

Cheseldine,  A.,Mrs.  269 

Chomel,  A   277 

Clark,  C.  S   278 

Clark,    I.  L 281 

Clark,  yi.  I 279 

Clarke,  G.'  E   288 

Clarke,  A 280 

Cleary,  M.  D 294 

Coffee,   D.   D 357 

Cogan,  W.  I 366 

Colbert,  D."  J    356 

Coleman,  P 359 

Colerick   Familv...  299 

Coll,    D.    C....'.  ...  300 

Collins,  E.  A.,  Miss  301 

Condron,  M 302 

Connolly,  W.  A....  303 

Connor,  C 310 

Conrad,  C.  J 141 

Conrad,  F 304 

Cooney  Bros 306 

Cooney,  \V 305 

Cooney,  M 311 

Corbv,  W 312 

Costello.H.F 319 

Costal  io,  J 320 

Crannan,  T 293 

Crawford,    W 321 

Crawley,   P 323 

Cronin,'T.: 322 

Crosson,  P.  J 324 

Cumniings,  M    324 

Cunningham,  \V.  ]..  106 

Curran,  C 331 

Curran,  E.   1)   325 

Curran,  J 332 

Czyzewski,  \' 3.33 

Daily,  J 334 

Dandurand,  F.  J...  119 

Dant,  A.  J 335 

Daub,  A.  P 337 

Daunhauer,  A 343 

Davey,  J 344 

Dawson,  T 345 

(xivT~ 


Dean,  T 346 

Deerv,  ].  H 347 

Dehler,"\' 348 

I )eininger,  I ' 354 

Delaney,  j.  F 126 

Delaney,  T.  F 355 

Delaney,  P.  \V  .    ...  349 

Dempsev,  J 369 

Denk,  R.  J 376 

Denver,  F 370 

Deshler,  H.  G 1444 

Dewenter,  A 3(>7 

Dewenter,  J.  C . .  .  .  367 

Dhe,  C 158 

Dickmann,  J 371 

Dilger,  E 375 

Dillon,  P 377 

Dinnen,  J.  R 1407 

Dippel,  H.  C 382 

Dittmer,  F 382 

Dittoe,  A.  J 383 

Dober,  E 390 

Doerschuk,  F 389 

Doll,  F.  A 391 

Dommershausen,  J  .  394 

Donahue,  T 392 

Donnelly,  M 148 

Dooley,  M.  M 393 

Dosch,  J 401 

Dowd,  F.  B 407 

Downes,  W 395 

Downey,  W 402 

Doyle,  D 407 

Dovle,  J 4n9 

Doyle,  J.  W 416 

Doyle,  P  409 

Dubail,  E.F 415 

Duehmig,  D 1306 

Duesterberg,  J.  M..  417 

Dulfey,  P.  J 418 

Dugan,  J 419 

Dunn,  J 428-442 

Dunn,  C.  F 420 

Dunn,  J.  E 433 

Dunn,T 421 

Du  ham,   ].  P 434 

Durlauf,   Si.  F 435 

Dwyer,  }.  J 445 

Dwyer,  }.  \V 444 

Eagan,  D 446 

P^bner,  1 447 

Ebner,  "I.  L 164 

Eckert,"  J 452 

Egan,  D.  J 457 

Egan,  J 458 

Ehinger,  E.  X 460 

Eisenring,  T.  F 4()5 

Eisert,  J.C 1441 


Elbreg,  G.  \V   170 

Ellering,  A.   M 765 

Endress,  F 1445 

Engel,  C 1456 

Powers,  }i 466 

Fahlbush,  G 467 

Faller,  E.  M 180 

Fallev,  A 191 

Falley,J.  B 467 

Falvey,  T 469 

Fanning,  J 477 

Fanning,  I.  H 479 

Fanning,  "J.  \V 202 

Fanning,  P.  E 470 

Fanning  &  Grannan  478 

Farrell,  M.  H 471 

Farrell,  R.  W 490 

Faust,  F.   P   492 

Faust,  J. 544 

Featherstone,  D. . ..  491 

Feigen,  A 1311 

Fein,  H 493 

Feiten,  J 494 

Fernkas,  ) 495 

Ferstl,  J.  "B 499 

Fichter,  L 194 

Fife,  E.,  Mrs 500 

Fihe,  J.  H 501 

Filcer,  J.  H 505 

Finan,  E 506 

Finn,  D.  W 507 

Finn,  J.  F .  515 

Fischer,  \' 518 

Fisher,  A.  J 517 

Fitzgerald,  C 519 

Fitzgerald,  P.  H....  962 

Fitzgibbon,  E 525 

Fitz  Gibbon,  T 531 

Fitzgibbons,  J.  S.. ..  527 

Flach,   1 ". 540 

Flaherty,  J 539 

Flaherty,  T 541 

Fleck,  G.  C 543 

Fleischmann,  M..  .  .  208 

Fleming,   \V 542 

Flvnn,  \V 223 

Foley,  J.  P 545 

Fox,  C.  Mrs 552 

Fox,  M 557 

Fralich,   F.  J 563 

Frank,  \' 546 

Frederick,  E.  C. . . .  553 

Freel,  J 564 

Freiburger,  1 565 

Frewin.  J.  J 230 

Frey,  J.  r 566 

Friedman,  M 574 

Fries,  1.  A 567 

Frisz,  "1 568 


INDEX  —VOL 


Krisz,  J.  W 140;t 

l-ritch,  A '""hO 

Krit/cr.   I.    1 ')"•'> 

Kronicvcr,   |.   W...  .  •'iBd 

Irund,  H.  \\' 587 

Fullenkaini..  J   J....  580 

Gabriel,  j.   J.  M....  581 

Gallat,dier,   1 590 

Gallagher,   j.  H....  588 

Gallivan,  i\i.  D 590 

Ganser,  F.  X 598 

Gamier.  J.  B 29(5 

Garrigan,  M K^H 

Garrity,  j 597 

Garstang.  R.  W . . . .  599 

Gasper,  J.  L <iO;5 

Gavin,  B.,  Mrs BOr) 

(lavnor  M.  J 610 

Gehrlich,  J (Ul 

George,  F.  J <il2 

Geraghty,  L.   J <il4 

Gera   litv,  T.  A 613 

Gerdink;   J.  W ()24 

Gerdon,  J.  F 847 

Gill,   M.  F 290 

Gillig,  J.  P 615 

Gilniartin,  E 625 

Ginnsz.  G.  M 680 

Giroit,  F.X 287 

Glassmeier,  R 681 

Goelz,  J.  E 632 

Golden,  P 631,633 

Gordon,  B.  A 634 

Gordon,  G.   P 639 

Gordon,  J 640 

Gordon  J.  I    <;42 

Gorman,  J.   B 635 

Gorman,  W 643 

Gradv,  J 644 

Gradv,  W.  M 649 

Graham,  H.M.,  Miss  316 
Gramelspacher,  G.  A.  645 

Grannan,  P.   E 653 

Greany,T 650 

Greene,  T.  A 654 

Greenen.  M.   H  .  .  .  .  651 

Greener,  J 65() 

Gribling,  X 661 

Griffin,  G.0 662 

Griffin,  P.  J 662 

(/rimnie,  J.  H 663 

Grinsteiner  Bros...  664 

Grogan,  J 1401 

Grothaus,  F 665 

Grusenmeyer,  A..  .  .  6(>6 

Gueguen,  1 244 

Guendling,  J.  H..  ..  1431 

Guethoff,  P.  A 1410 


(Hietig,  H.W 668 

Giithneck,  M.  1 670 

Ilaase,  C 144'.» 

Ilahig,  1 672 

llalcv,  M 675 

Hallen,  i 673 

Haniill,  P 674 

Hamilton,  G.  A.  .  .  .  675 

Hammer,  B 238 

Ilaudlin,  I).  I 681 

Hanf,  H.  F  ". 682 

Hanley,  J 683 

Hannagan,  S.  J....  684 

Harbison,  J.  E 687 

Harrigan,  C.  A 685 

Harrington,  C 688 

Harrington,   j.  |....  689 

Harry,  I.  L.." 691 

Hartman,  D.  C 690 

Hasenour,  G 306 

Haskamp,  1 692 

Hauck,  J.  } 692 

Haverkos,  J.  H 701 

Hayes,  M.  1 693 

Haves,  W.'M 694 

Hazinski.M 695 

Healey,  J.  H 700 

Healey,  M 702 

Heck.  M 396 

Hedian,T.  G 703 

Heeb,  P.  L 708 

Heeb,  W.  E 705 

Heffernan,  L) 705 

Heffernan,  M 707 

Hefron,  D.J 709 

Hegartv,  J.  H 710 

Hegger,  J 410 

Heichelbech,  F.  B. .  718 

Heitz,  G 711 

Hellhake,  H.  A 712 

Helm,  C.  J 713 

Henneberger,  A. .  .  .  719 

Hennessy,  J 720 

Hennessy,  J.  F 720 

Herbert,  A.  H 721 

Herbig,  J 723 

Herr,  H.  P 723 

Herzog,  A 724 

Heusler,  B 725 

Rickey,  A.,  Mrs....  725 

Higgins,  M 726 

Hiilebrand.  J.  H....  422 

Hinsberger,  J 728 

Hirsch,  A 731 

Hitzelberger,  A 729 

Hock,  G.  V 732 

Hock,  J 730 

Hot^man,  ].  A 737 

HotYman,  J.  J 7;!7 


Hogan,  I) 738 

Hogan,  M.  H 740 

Hogan,  P.  J 742 

Hogan,  T.  W 739 

Hogan,  W.   S 743 

Hollra    ,  P 744 

Holiel,G 745 

Homme  ,  P .  .  745 

Hooley,  P.  J 747 

Hoose,  J 748 

Horan,M 750 

Hottenroth,G 746 

Howard,  E 751 

Howard,  T.E 264 

H  libers,  J   758 

Hudson,  H.T 757 

Hueser,  J.  H 912 

Hughes,  J 759 

Hulman,  H. 436 

Hulsman,   F 7t)2 

Hunt,  I.T 7(iO 

Hunter,  J.  C 703 

Hupe,  C 763 

Hurley,  D 764 

Hyland,  C.  E 767 

Imhoff,  W.  J 768 

Inderrieden,  J.  L.  .  .  770 

Ittenbach,  G 448 

lackson,  L 769 

Jacob,  M. A 776 

Jahn,  J    772 

Jakob,  E 777 

Jarboe,  I 777 

Jefferson,  M.  L 454 

jeup,  B.  J.  T 779 

leup,  J.  B   430 

jochum,  W.  A 4(iO 

Johnson,  C   780 

lohnson,  J 1259 

Johnson,  J.,  Jr. 1260 

lohnson,   J.  \V 781 

Jordan,  J.  F   782 

Joyce,  H 1450 

Joyce,  P.  A 783 

Kamp,  P.  G 785 

Kaough,  W 784 

Kapps,  J.A 786 

Kasper,  J.J 788 

Kastner,  P 789 

Kauffman,  D.  E..  .  .  793 

Kauj)pert,  G 794 

Kavanaugh,    M.    T. 

Mrs...". T95 

Kearney,  E 796 

Keating,  ] 797,  798 

Keating,  "I.  F 800 

Kebler,J.A 799 


IXDl.X — VOL.     II. 


Keegan,    T.  J ^^01 

Keenan,  I.  H 480 

Keenan,  1 480 

Keenan,  T 488 

Keheliek,  P.  A fc04 

Kehl,  H 803 

Keller,  H.E 805 

Kelley,  M.  M 814 

Kellv,  f.  H 80H 

Kellv,  "P 807 

Kenipf,  M 811 

Kennedy,  M.   H....  813 

Kennedy,  M.  F....  816 

Kenney,  E.  T  815 

Keogh,  J.  W 817 

Keough,    1' 818 

Kersting.  D 489 

Kervan,  J 819 

Kessing,  C.    H 820 

Kexel,  R    822 

Kidvveli.T.  P 823 

Kiefer,  j    821 

Kilfoil,  T 824 

Kilroy,  E.  B 825 

King,  F.  A 825 

Kinser,  T.  W 829 

Kivits,  A.P 831 

Klein,  A.  J 833 

Klein,  J 832 

Klueber,  J.,  Jr 832 

Knabe,  A 496 

Knapke,  R.   1 836 

Kobvlinski,  C.  M...  841 

Koehne,    H 270 

Koerdt,  F 256 

Kohne,  A 834 

Kokenge,  C 835 

KorpahC.  V 842 

Kramer,  M.J 843 

Kreutzer,  F.  \ 846 

Kreutzer,  J 845 

Kroeger,  B .*.  . .  338 

Kroeger.B.  A 1315 

Kroeger,  A.  | 326 

Kroir.  H.  F.   1 360 

Kubacki,  J.  F   472 

Kuebler,  S 844 

Kidilniann,  J.  R 1454 

Kull,  A.  F 854 

LaCoste.  H 853 

LaCroix,  J.  D 855 

Lahev,  M 856 

Lambert,  F.J 857 

Lanijiert,  F 858 

Landwerlen,  I 859 

Fang,  C.  I..." 865 

Fannert,'G.  J 502 

LaPlante,  C...:....  514 

LaPlante,  J.  B 508 

(xvi) 


LaPlante,  P...... 

Larbe.s,  J  .....  . 

Larkin  Bros 

Lavelle,  T 

Leary,  M 

Ledvina,  E . . .  . 
Leinigruber,  A. . 
Lenaghan,  A.  F . 
Lenaghan,  C. . . . 
Lenaghan,  J.  N . 
Lengerich,  B. .  . 
Lenhart,  J.  S.  .  .  . 

Lenihan,  D 

Lichtenfeld,  J.  F 

Liesen,  W 

Litot,  G.  A 

Lodde,  H.  B.... 
Loesch,  G.  |. . . . 
Logan,    M.". ...     889 

Logan,  M.  B 

Logan,  T.  X  ... 
Lordemann,  F.  . 
Luebbermann,  F 

Luers,  J.  H 

Luking,  H 

Lynch,  D 

Lynch,  P 

Lyons,  J.  H 


McBarron,  E.  1 
McCabe,  D... 
McCabe,  J.... 
McCabe,  M. .. 
McCaffrey,  H. 
McCarthy,  J.  J 
McCarthy,  "J.  R. 
McCarthy,  P.  R . 
McCarthy,  W.  C 
McCartney,  J.J. 
McCartv,  [.  J.  .  . 
McCarty,  J.  \V  .  . 
McCloskey,  B... 
McCloskey,  M.,M 

McCue,  y'. 

McDerniott,  P.  . 
McDermott,  R. . 
McDermott,  R,.  J 
McDonnell,  T.  R 
McGintv,C.  .. 
McGinty,  J.  . 
McGovern,  T. 
McGrath,^.  M 
McGraw,  M  .  .  . 
McGroarty,  I .  . 
McHale,  P.  F  . 
McHugh,  T.  I. 
McHugh,  J,  F 
McKeever,  T. . 
McKeever,  G . . 
McKenzie,  T.  W 


A 


508 

McKinnie,    W.     M. 

86() 

Mrs 

957 

867 

McKone,  T 

959 

868 

McLaughlin,  1 

958 

869 

McLoughlin,  T.  A.  . 

960 

520 

McMahon,  A 

961 

870 

McMahon,P.  T.... 

968 

871 

McManaiiion,  A.  .  . . 

961 

879 

McManus,  M    

969 

878 

McMorrow,J.H.... 

560 

880 

McMuUen,  D.  J  .  . . . 

551 

881 

McXamara,  ].  K  .  .  . 

948 

882 

McNeils,   J 

972 

1443 

McNeils,    M 

576 

887 

McXelis,  P.  H.    . 

570 

888 

McNulty,  J 

1413 

883 

Mack,  J.  F 

971 

1316 

Madden,  E.,  Mrs. . 

973 

-891 

Madden,  R.   M.... 

974 

888 

Madigan,  J.  J 

978 

634 

Maher,  P.  J 

977 

891 

Maher,  W.  A 

981 

893 

Mahon,  P 

980 

892 

Mahoney,  J.   H.  . . . 

582 

899 

Mahoney,  J.  J 

981 

900 

Mahoney,  M.  M 

600 

528 

Mahoney,  M.  F 

989 

903 

Maley,  T 

991 

ALiloney,   M 

992 

904 

Mandabach,  M 

997 

911 

Manning,  J.  F 

994 

914 

Manning,  J.   M 

995 

902 

Manstield,  M.  R... 

996 

1411 

Marchesseau,  F.  L. 

1432 

916 

Mark,   J.  A 

998 

923 

Markey,  T.  J 

998 

554 

Markle,A.  W 

!t99 

924 

Martin,   A.  A 

1001 

915 

Martin,  T.  S 

1000 

925 

Mathews,  E.  W.... 

1006 

926 

Matthews,   J.  P 

1008 

927 

Mattingly,  J.  F 

1009 

927 

Maujay,  C    

1009 

1431 

Mauntel,  F 

1010 

934 

Maute,  F 

350 

928 

Mazelin,E.  D 

1011 

928 

Meer,   H    

1012 

933 

Meer,  J.   H 

1016 

93() 

Meil)er,  | 

1014 

938 

Meighan,  IF.    .  . 

1017 

il36 

.Meissner,  H 

372 

943 

Melchior,  J.  T 

1023 

939 

Melle,   G.    T 

1028 

944 

Merkl,  J.   J 

1166 

1317 

Merz,  A.    J 

1018 

946 

Mesker,  T.  .S 

1434 

945 

Messmann,  A 

1017 

955 

Messnier,  J  A 

1450 

949 

Meyer,  P 

1029 

956 

Michel,  A 

808 

INDKX—  \()L. 


Milet,  R.  \ 10;{0 

Millt-a,  T.  }' UVM 

Miller,  II \{):\2 

Miller,  I  io;{ti  io4;{ 

Miller.  :\1 Km 

Miller,  X 1042  1044 

Miller,  W.  C 1045 

Miner,  W.  | 1045 

Moan,  P..". I041t 

Mock,  H.  M 1047 

Moe   ch,  L.  A 592 

Moffitt,  P.  W 1050 

Mohan,  J 976 

Moloney,  J (il() 

Moaience,  A 1048 

Mona^han,  D.  Ir.  ..   1051 
Monahan,  1).  .  .'   ...    1052 

Moore,  K 1058 

Moore,  I   OOH 

Moore,  \\'.  K (i26 

Moorehead,  T.  W..    1054 

Morbacli,  C.  W 1059 

Moran,  ] lOfiO 

Moran,  P.  T 1055 

M origan,  W 1062 

Morgenroth,  F 1068 

Moriartv,  W.  C 1064 

Morin,  ] 1066 

Moroney,  D.   M iMM^ 

Morris,  K„  Mrs 1067 

Moss,  G.  H 1414 

Movnihan,  P.   | 1451 

Mueller,  J.  B.". 106S 

Mueller,  M 1079 

Mueller,  M.  J 1069 

Mug,  J.  T 1069 

Mulcahy,  D.   J    1071 

Mulhaupt,  F.  J..  .    .    1072 

Mullally,  E 1073 

Mullallv.  I.  P 1078 

Mullen,   I    F 1078 

Mullin,    i 1077 

Mulvine,'  T .*.   1080 

Mundi,  I   F 1081 

Mundwiler,  F 878 

Murphv,  F 646 

Murphv,   I   1085 

Murphv,  \1.  1 1082 

Murphy,  M.  \V 1084 

Murphv,  P 1088 

Murphv,  P.  L 1086 

Murray,  J 10«9 

Naughton,  P 1088 

Nees,  J.  A 1087 

Nees,  T 1090 

Neilan,-T.  H 1091 

Neubauer,  F 1215 

Neunian,    |.  M 1095 

Niblick,  W.  H 1096 


Nichols,   J 1097 

Niermann,  1 109M 

Niesse,  H 1099 

Nolan,  W.  11 l|(i(i 

Noll,  M    F liol 

Nordhaus,  j.  \V 1102 

Obrecht,  J.   N 1108 

Oechtering,  A.  15.  .  .    1104 
Oechtering,  J.   11 .  .  .     (556 

O'Brian,  W.   F 1106 

O'Brien,  |.  A 1108 

O'i^rien,  "|.  J 1109 

O'Brien,   M 1114 

O'Brien,  M.  ( 1115 

O'Brien,  P...". lllfi 

O'Brien,  T 1117 

O'Brien,  W 1118 

O'Connell,  D 1119 

O'Connell,  J 1120 

O'Connell,  T 1121 

O'Conner,  B.  S 1128 

O'Connor,  C 1124 

O'Connor,  J 1122 

O'Connor,  P 1125 

O'Connor,  R.  J 1128 

O'Donaghue,  1) 21 

O'Donaghue,  T 676 

O'Donnell,  D 1126 

O'Donnell,  L.  H....  1188 

O'Donnell,  M 1136 

O'Flaherty,  T 1134 

O'Flaherty,  M 1139 

O'Hara,  A 1140 

O'Hara,  H 1142 

O'Hara,  J.  W 696 

O'Loughlin,  J 1141 

O'Mahoney,  P.  |.  ..   1148 

O'Neal,  J ....    1143 

O'Rourke,  P.  S 714 

O'Rourke,  "V\^  S...       717 
O'Toole,  P 1145 

Padgett,  A.  1 1153 

Padgett,  J.  A 1146 

Page,  J.,  Mrs 1152 

Pa(|uet,L.  R 732 

Paradise,  H 1154 

Perlev,  S.  S 1147 

Peters,  J.  J 1155 

Peurrung,  f.  P 1166 

Pfau,  H 1160 

Pfeiffer,   [.  P 1157 

Phelan,  I 1158 

Piening,  C 1159 

Pierrard,  H 752 

Poirier,  j.  B 1160 

Poulin,  F 1168 

Power,  M.  J 1319 

Pratt,  R.J 1162 

Prenatt,  M.  G.,  Mrs.  772 


Pressler,  G.  R llf;4 

I'rice,  M ]]v,4 

Purcell,   .M.  F 1165 

Quigley,  J.  I- 790 

Uiiill.  J 1170 

<iuill.  .M ur,H 

(iuiiilan,  J.  R 384 

(juinlan,  W.  J 1488 

Quinn,  P.  J   1318 

Quinn,  '1'.  F 1169 

Raben,  A 14;59 

Rademacker,  C...    1171 

Radican,  \V 1171 

Raniler,  J 1172 

Raupfer,  B 1178 

Ravmond,  A 826 

Ready,  P 1174 

Reagan,  I).  IC 1175 

Recker,  G 1176 

Recker,  G.  R 1179 

Recker,  W.  F 1177 

Redington,  M 1180 

Redmond,  J 1180 

Reed,  J.  J 1182 

Reifers,  N.  S 1182 

Reillev,  P 1185 

Reilly^  1 1183 

Reilly,  J.  J 1185 

Reinhart,  A.  A 1188 

Reinsel,  |    1187 

Reiter,  F.  G 1191 

Reiter,  G 1189 

Reitz,  J.  F 1451 

Reynolds,  H 1198 

Reynolds,  H.  B....     841 

Riehle,  A 848 

Rilev,  r 1192 

Riordan,  D 1194 

Ring,  J 1194 

Ritchie,  M.  A.,  Mrs.  1196 

Roeder,   N 1195 

Roell,  FA 860 

Roell,  H 1198 

Rohan,    1.   H 1198 

Rohe,  J."  H 1200 

Roniarv    J.   J 1200 

Ro.senbaum,  W 1201 

Rosenberger,  A .  . . .   1457 
Rosenberger,  H  .  . . .   1452 

Rosenstein,    | 1202 

Rowan.  P..." 1208 

Roy,  1.  \- 1204 

Rudo  f,  F.  1 1326 

Russell,  J."F 1205 

Rust,  G 1207 

Rvan,   F.   M 1208 

Ryan,  J 1210 

Rvan,  R 1213 

Ryan,  N 1211 

(xvii) 


INDEX VOL.     II. 


Ryan,   P 1'212 

Rynn,  W 1218 

Ryves,  J ^72 

Saalmann,  H 1217 

Sadher,  G 1216 

Sage,  J 1219 

Sauer,  F i218 

Sause,  M.  E.,  Mrs.  .   1220 

Scanlon.  T.  H 884 

Scanlon,  "J.  \' 1221 

Schaaf,  A 1222 

Schaaf,  A.  J 1223 

Schaller,  F 1224 

Schaller,  G 1225 

Scharuun,  P.  W ....   1446 

Scheideler,  A 404 

Scheefers,  J.  H....   1226 

Schindler,  J.  J 1230 

Schneider,   [ 1239 

.Schnell,  \'."A 918 

Schnell,  H.,  Mrs....   1242 

Schorno,  J.  B 1240 

Schott,  I.  K 1241 

Schramm,  G.  M  . . . .  940 
Schroeder,  M.,  Mrs.  1244 
Schellinger,  G.  A...   1227 

Schenk.A.A 894 

Schenk,  E.  B 1229 

Scherer,  A 1228 

Scherschel,   {.  R....  1229 

Schitter,  J.  M 1232 

Schlegel,  J 1233 

Schmitt,  A 906,1234 

Schmitt,  C.  J 1237 

Schmitt,  E 1235 

Schmoll,  J.  A 1238 

SchmoU,  J.  C 1240 

Schwegel,  D 1246 

Schwegman,  J.  G.. .   1244 

Searles,  E 1247 

Sears,  T 1248 

Seepe,  J.  B.  H 1251 

Seibertz,  H.  T 1249 

Senefeld,  1.  P 1251 

Seng,  J.  H 1253 

Sermersheim,  J.  A..  1252 
Sermersheim,  M....  1254 

Sexton,  J.,  Mrs 1255 

Sexton,  P 1256 

Shannon,  T 1257 

Sharkey,  M 1261 

Shaughnessv,  J 1263 

Shea,  T 1262 

Sheehy,  J.  J 1265 

Shell.  C 1264 

Sheridan,  J 1267 

Shine,  J.  W 1269 

Shine,  \V 1268 

Shoemaker,  T.  B...   1271 


Siefert,  E.  W 1250 

Smead,  M.,  Mrs....  1270 

Smeltzer,   ].  G 1272 

Smith,  G.. 1273 

Soete,  J.  J 1274 

Somes,  J.  F 930 

Sommers,  H.  G   ...  1275 

Sondermann,  A  . . . .  1278 

Sonderniann,  J.  F.. .  950 

Sondermann.  T....  1276 

Sowar,  J.  .S.  C 1277 

Spiegel,  J.  F 1278 

Spitzmesser,  L 1279 

Spitznagle,  J.  A 1280 

Sprauer,  A.,  Mrs 1281 

Stadier,  E 987 

Stanton,  J.  F 1002 

Stehlin,  O.  F 1281 

Steigenwald,  C 1283 

Steigerwald,  G.  S. . .  1282 

Steinhart,  M.  L 1284 

Steinkamp,  C   1285 

Stenger,  S 1020 

Stetter,  C.  V 1285 

Stevens,  W.   A  . . . .  1286 

Stoecklev,  J.A 1288 

Stoll,  A..' 1287 

Stoll,  C.  Mrs 1289 

Stratman,  A 1038 

Suermann,  E 1290 

Sullivan,  D 1289 

Sullivan,  F.  I.  A....  1291 

Sullivan,  J.  C 1292 

Sullivan,].  F 1293 

Sullivan,  P 1294 

Sullivan.  T.  A 1295 

Sum  Bros 1296 

Sweeney,  J 1297 

Sweeney,  M.  A 1303 

Thiele,  C.  F 1320 

Thiele,  F.  B 1322 

Thomas,  M.  H 1332 

Thompson,  W    1322 

Thuis,  F.  A 1323 

Tobin,  F 1325 

Tobin,  W.  D 1074 

Tobin,  W 1056 

Toelle,  M 1325 

Toner,  J 1333 

Toole,  P.  M 1144 

Torbeck,  F 1336 

T(jrbeck,  W.  H 1335 

Torline,  H.  H 1337 

Tremmel,  J 1338 

Troxler,  J 1339 

Tuley,  T.J 1339 

Ulrich,  J 1342 

Unterreitmeier.F.X.  1343 


Ijdiaus,  J 1345 

L'nverzagt,  J.  H.  .  .  .   1343 

\an  Huffel.  P 1345 

Vernimont,  R 1348 

A'illinger,  J 1347 

Voglewede.  J.  H  . . .   1346 

Voirol,  F.  A 1348 

Vollmer,F.  X 1349 

\'olImer,  H 1350 

\ollmer,  H.  F 1351 

\'olpert,  f.  W 1353 

Von  Schwedler,  F..   1352 

Wade,  J.  J 1354 

Wade,  M.  C 1355 

Wade,  P 1357 

Wagner.  C.  J 1358 

Wagner.  M 1447 

Walden,  R.  R 1092 

Waldron,  J 1110 

Walker,  T.  R 1359 

Wallace,  J.  B   1360 

Wallner,  M 1365 

W^allrath,  P 1361 

Walsh,  J 1464 

Walsh,}.  C 1367 

Walsh,  T 1369 

Walsh,  P 1433 

Walsh,  P.  B 1368 

Walter,  C.  A 1370 

Walterman,  F 1372 

Walternian,H.A...   1376 

Walters,  E.  P 1373 

Walz,  V 1376 

Ward,  J.  G 1377 

Ward,  P.  J 1380 

Watson,  Marv,  Mrs.  1378 

Watson,  L.  L' 1381 

Weber,  P.  J 1383 

Wehrle,  F.   J 1384 

Weintrout,G.F....   1387 

Weintrout,  X 1385 

Weiss,  B   1387 

Welch,  J.  R 1388 

Welsh,  M.  D 1390 

Wenger,  G.  M 1391 

Werner,  J.  Sr 1391 

Werst,  P 1393 

Wheeler.  J.  L 1392 

Whelan.  T 1394 

Wickens.  H.  D  . . . .   1415 
Widerin,  G.  L.  T...  1416 

Wiegand,  W 1417 

Wilcox.  M.,  Mrs...   1418 

Wilken,  H.T 1128 

Williams,  R.  C 1419 

WiUien,  1..  I 1148 

Wills,  K.  R" 1420 

Witte.Ci 1421 


(xviii) 


INDKX — VOL.     II. 


Wult,  C-.    I 1422 

W,)ll".  K.  \V 1404 

Wiobfl,  E 1421 

Venn,  S 142:) 


VL-nn.  S.  M 1425 

Zahin,  J.  A 142(i 

Zcpf,  A 1421) 

Zern,  (;.  A U.?") 


Ziegtnfuss,  J 143H 

Zic^ler.  J 1428  1455 

Zins,  P 1480 

Zunibuclt.',  M 14:^7 


PORTRAITS— VOL.    II. 


Abbink,   I) 86 

Alcn]in,«,s  H :{0 

Barrett,  T.F T(; 

Bessonies,  A 41 

Book.J.W 64 

Brueggeniann,  Ix  II  l^^OO 

Campion,  M.  E 54 

Carr,  M.  W 139() 

Cauthorn,  H.   S....  98 

Conrad,  C.J 140 

Cunningham,  W.J.  108 

Dandurand,  F.  J..  .  118 

Delaney,  J.  F 128 

Donnelly,  iM 149 

Duehmig,  D 1308 

Ebner,  J.  L 165 

Elbreg,  G.  W 171 

Faller,  E.  M 182 

Planning,  J.  W 208 

Fitzgerald,  P.  H  . . . .  963 

Fleischmann,  M  . . . .  210 

Flynn,W 224 

Frewin,  J.  J   232 

Gamier,  J.  B 297 

Gill,  M.  F 291 

Girolt,  F.    X 284 

Graham,  H.M.,Miss    317 

Gueguen,    L 246 

Hammer,  B 239 

Hasenour,  G 308 

Heck,  M 398 

Hegger,  J   412 

Hillebrand,J.H....  424 

Howard,  T.E 265 

Ittenbach.  F 449 


Ittenbach,  J.  B 449 

Ittenbach,  G 449 

Ittenbach,  G.  L....  449 

Jefferson,  M.   L....  455 

leup,  J.  B   431 

jochum,    \V.    A....  462 

Keenan,  J.   H 481 

Knabe,A 497 

Koehne,  H 272 

Koerdt,    F 258 

Kroeger,  A.  J 328 

Kroeger,  B 340 

Kroll,  H.F.J 362 

Kubacki,  J.  F 474 

Lannert,  G.  J 503 

LaPlante,   J.   B....  510 

LaPlante,  P.  E . . . .  511 

Ledvina,  E 522 

Logan,   T.   X 536 

Lynch,  P 529 

McCarthy,  P.  R....  555 

McMorrow,  |.  H...  561 

McMullen,  D.  J....  548 

McNelis,    M 577 

McNelis,   P.    H....  571 

Maher,    VV 980 

Mahoney,  J.  H....  583 

Mahoney,  M.  F....  988 

Mahoney,  M.  M  .  .  .  .  601 

Maute,  F 351 

Meissner,  H 373 

Mesker,  T.  S 1434 

Meyer,  P 1029 

Moench,  L.  R 594 

Moloney,  J 617 

Moore,  J 607 

Moore,  W.  F 627 

Moroney,  D.  M 637 


Mundwiler,   F 379 

Murphy,  F 647 

O'Donaghue,  D....  20 

Oechtering,  J.  H.  .  .  658 

(3'Hara,  J.  W 697 

ORouke,  P.  S 715 

Pacpiet,  L.  R 734 

Pierrard,  H 754 

Prenatt,  F 773 

(2uigley,  J.  F 791 

Ouinlan,   I.  R   386 

(iuinlan,  W.  J 1438 

Raymond,  A 827 

Reynolds,  H.B 840 

Riehle,  A 850 

Roell,  F.  A 862 

Rudolf,  F.   J 1328 

Ryves,  J 874 

Scanlon,  J.  H 885 

Scharoun,  P.  W 1446 

Scheideler,  A 405 

Schenk,  A.A 896 

Schmitt,  A 908 

Schnell.V.  A 920 

Schramm,  G.   M....  941 

Seibertz,  H.  J 1248 

Somes,  J.  F 930 

Sondermann,  J.  F..  952 

Stadler,  E   983 

Stenger,  S 1022 

Stratman,  A 1039 

Tobin,  W 1057 

Tobin,  W.  D 1075 

Walden,  R.  R 1093 

Waldron.    I 1111 

Wilken,  H.  T 113(1 

Willien,  L.  J 1149 

Wolf,  F.  W 1406 


(xix) 


INDEX- — VOL.     II. 


CHURCH    VIEWS,    ETC.— VOL.   H. 


Annunciation  B.  V.  M.,  Brazil..  .     755 
Annunciation  B.  V.  M,  New  Al- 
bany      183 

Assumption,  Avilla 1309 

Holy  Family.  Oldenburg 487 

Holy   Guardian    Angel's,    Cedar 

Grove 1435 

Immaculate  Conception,  Aurora.     863 
Immaculate    Conception,  Rush- 

ville ^'^' 

Visitation  B.  V.  M.,  Huntingburg.     190 

St.  Ann's,  Terre  Haute 875 

St.  Anthony",  Morris 285 

St.  Benedict's,  Terre  Haute.  .439-1447 

St.  Bernard's,  Frenchtown 1415 

St.  Bernard's,  Rock  port 463 

St.  Bridget's,  Logansport 341 

St.  Ferdinand's,  Ferdinand 985 

St.  Francis  Xavier,' V'incennes. .  .     247 

St.  Gabriel's,  Connersville 1329 

St.  James',  St.  James 413 

St.  John's,  Loogootee 679 

St.  John  the  Baptist's,  Dover 1301 

St.  John  the  Baptist's,  Tipton.  .  .     329 
St.  John  the  Baptist's,  \'incennes.    211 
St.  John  the  Evangelist's,  War- 
rick county 1414 

St.  Joseph's,  Indianapolis 31 

St.  Joseph's,  Jasper 1021 

St.  Josei)h"s,  Logansport 273 

St.  Joseph's,  Princeton 523 

St.  Joseph's,  Reynolds 475 


St.  Joseph's,  Terre  Haute 233 

St.  Lawrence's,  Lawrenceburg. .     953 

St.  Louis,  Shoals 1405 

St.  Martin's,  Siberia 809 

St.  Mary's,  Decatur 1131 

St.  Mary's,  Fort  Wayne  (Mother 

of  God) 659 

St.  Mary's,  Greensburg 195 

St.  Mary's,  Huntington 387 

St.  Mary's,  \'igo  county 851 

St.   Mary's  of    the   Assumption, 

Floyd  Knobs 425 

St.  Michael's,  Brookville 897 

St.  Michael's, Cannelton 65 

St.  Patrick's,    Fort    Wayne 129 

St.  Patrick's,  Indianapolis 19 

St.  Patrick's,   Terre  Haute 921 

St.  Paul's,  Fort   Wayne 363 

St.  Paul's,  Marion   1439 

St.  Paul's,  New  Alsace 1 167 

St.  Paul's,  Valparaiso 595 

St.  Petei  's  Fort  'V\''ayne 259 

St.  Rose  of   Lima,  Monroeville.  .     735 

St.  Thomas,  Knox  county 1003 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Logansport       53 

St.  Wendel's,  St.  Wendel   399 

St.    Meinrad's    Abbev,    Sjjencer 

county 909 

Journal  Building,  Indianapolis..     965 

Old  People's  Home,  Avilla 87 

St.    Mary's   School-house,    Rich- 
mond      549 


(XX) 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHIRCH 


IN    THE 


STATK  OK    INDIANA. 


CHAPTER  I. 


PRELIMINARY     REFLECTIONS ST.     BRENDAN,      AN     IRISH     MONK,     THE 

FIRST    DISCOVERER    OF     AMERICA THE    COUNTRY    CATHOLIC    BY 

DISCOVERY,   EXPLORATION    AND    CHRISTIANIZATION. 

NO  \vork  purporting  to  be  a  church  history,  and  aiming  to  tell 
the  story  of  Catholicity,  even  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  could 
be  anything  like  complete  and  acceptable  without  mention  being 
made  in  it  of  the  discoverers,  explorers,  colonizers  and  first  planters 
of  the  Faith  on  this  continent. 

This  is  due  to  truth  as  a  general  proposition,  and  it  is  due  also 
to  the  subject,  even  as  treated  within  the  limited  scope  of  these 
pages;  for  irrespective  as  to  who  was  the  first  discoverer  of  this 
country- — whether  it  was  St.  Brendan,  the  Irish  monk  and  navi- 
gator, Christopher  Columbus,  or  Amerigo  Vespucci — the  fact  still 
remains  that  all  of  these,  as  well  as  .all  of  the  early  explorers 
and  colonizers,  were  members  of  the  Catholic  church,  while,  indeed, 
many  of  them  were  priests,  and  not  a  few  prominent  leaders  among 
the  great  religious  orders. 

*Chinese  scholars,  according  to  Dillon,  claim  that  their  ships,  as  early  as 
458  A.  D.,  made  voyages  to  the  western  coast  of  America,  which  they  called  Fau 
-Sang. 

2  — (2r) 


INDEX VOL.     II. 


CHURCH    VIEWS,    ETC.— VOL.   H. 


Annunciation  H.  \'.  M.,  Brazil..  .     755 
Annunciation  13.  \'.  M,  New  Al- 
bany      183 

Assumption,  Avilla 1309 

Holy  Family.  Oldenburg 487 

Holy   Guardian   Angels,   Cedar 

Grove 1435 

Immaculate  Conception,  Aurora.     863 
Immaculate    Conception,   Rush- 

ville 537 

Visitation  B.  V.  M.,  Huntingburg.     190 

St.  Ann's,  Terre  Haute 875 

St.  Anthonv",  Morris 285 

St.  Benedict's,  Terre  Haute.  .439-1447 

St.  Bernard's,  Frenchtown 1415 

St.  Bernard's,  Rockport 463 

St.  Bridget's,  Logansport 341 

St.  Ferdinand's,  Ferdinand 985 

St.  Francis  Xavier,- X'incennes..  .     247 

St.  Gabriel's,  Connersville 1329 

St.  James',  St.  James 413 

St.  John's,  Loogootee 679 

St.  John  the  Baptist's,  Dover 1301 

St.  John  the  Baptist's,  Tipton.  .  .     329 
St.  John  the  Baptist's,  Vincennes.    211 
St.  John  the  Evangelist's,  War- 
rick county 1414 

St.  Joseph's,  Indianajiolis 31 

St.  Joseph's,  Jasper 1021 

St.  Joseph's,  "Logansport 273 

St.  Joseph's,  Princeton 523 

St.  Joseph's,  Reynolds 475 


St.  Joseph's,  Terre  Haute 233 

St.  Lawrence's,  Lawrenceburg. .  953 

St.  Louis,  Shoals 1405 

St,  Martin's,  Siberia 809 

St.  Mary's,  Decatur 1131 

St.  Ma/y's,  Fort  Wayne  (Mother 

of  God) 659 

St.  Mary's,  Greensburg 195 

St.  Mary's,  Huntington 387 

St.  Mary's,  \'igo  county 851 

St.   Mary's  of    the   Assumption, 

Floyd  Knobs 425 

St.  Michael's,  Brookville 897 

St.  Michael's, Cannelton 65 

St.  Patrick's,    Fort    Wayne 129 

St.  Patrick's,  Indianapolis 19 

St.  Patrick's,   Terre  Haute 921 

St.  Paul's,  Fort   Wayne 363 

St.  Paul's,  Marion   1439 

St.  Paul's,  New  Alsace 1 167 

St.  Paul's,  Valparaiso 595 

St.  Petei  's  Fort  Wayne 259 

St.  Rose  of  Lima,  Monroeville. .  735 

St.  Thomas,  Knox  county 1003 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Logansport  53 

St.  Wendel's,  St.  Wendel   399 

St.    Meinrad's    Abbey,    Spencer 

county 909 

Journal  Building,  Indianapolis.  .  965 

Old  People's  Home,  Avilla 87 

St.    Mary's   School-house,    Rich- 
mond   549 


(XX) 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CIU'RCII 


IN    THE 


STATK  OF    INDIANA. 


CHAPTER  I. 


PRELIMINARY     REFLECTIONS ST.     BRENDAN,      AN     IRISH     MONK,     THE 

FIRST    DISCOVERER    OF     AMERICA THE    COUNTRY    CATHOLIC    BY 

DISCOVERY,    EXPLORATION    AND    CHRISTIANIZATION. 

NO  work  purporting  to  be  a  church  history,  and  aiming  to  tell 
the  story  of  Catholicity,  even  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  could 
be  anything  like  complete  and  acceptable  without  mention  being 
made  in  it  of  the  discoverers,  explorers,  colonizers  and  first  planters 
of  the  Faith  on  this  continent. 

This  is  due  to  truth  as  a  general  proposition,  and  it  is  due  also 
to  the  subject,  even  as  treated  within  the  limited  scope  of  these 
pages;  for  irrespective  as  to  who  was  the  first  discoverer  of  this 
country- — whether  it  was  St.  Brendan,  the  Irish  monk  and  navi- 
gator, Christopher  Columbus,  or  Amerigo  Vespucci — the  fact  still 
remains  that  all  of  these,  as  well  as  -all  of  the  early  explorers 
and  colonizers,  were  members  of  the  Catholic  church,  while,  indeed, 
many  of  them  were  priests,  and  not  a  few  prominent  leaders  among 
the  great  religious  orders. 

^Chinese  scholars,  according  to  Dillon,  claim  that  their  ships,  as  early  as 
458  A.  D.,  made  voyages  to  the  western  coast  of  America,  which  they  called  Fau 
.Sang. 

2  ~72r) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Notwithstanding  the  prejudiced  opposition,  or  ignorance,  of 
some  historians  who  have  appeared  since  the  rehgious  revolt  of 
Martin  Luther  and  his  followers  against  the  mother  church  and 
against  everything  Catholic — and  we  might  say  against  everything 
Irish,  too,  since  the  term,  Irish,  in  a  general  sense,  is  synonymous 
with  the  word  Catholic — it  is  nevertheless  asserted,  and  with  no 
small  showing  of  truth,  that  St.  Brendan,  the  navigator,  an  Irish 
monk  and  holy  bishop,  who  was  born  in  the  year  484,  and  died  in 
577,  at  the  age  of  ninety-six,  saw  and  touched  the  shores  of  what 
is  now  the  United  States  of  North  America,  nearly  500  years  before 
Lief  Erickson,  the  Norseman,  is  said  to  have  discovered  them  in 
the  year  looi. 

More  than  300  years  before  the  daring  Norsemen,  in  the  year 
860,  were  driven  by  a  violent  storm  upon  the  coast  of  Iceland,  and 
thus  by  mere  accident  discovered  that  island — which  had  many 
years  previously  been  discovered  and  inhabited  by  Irish  monks — 
St.  Brendan,  the  navigator,  full  of.  religious  zeal  and  the  spirit  of 
inquiry  and  discovery,  was  daringly  coursing  along  the  western  limits 
of  the  then  unknown  and  much  dreaded  Atlantic.  With  his  bark 
headed  for  the  south,  he  must  have  touched  upon  the  shores  of 
what  are  now  the  states  of  Georgia  and  Florida,  according  to  a  poetic, 
description,  for  a  bard  says  of  the  newly  discovered  land: 

The  wind  had  died  upon  the  ocean's  breast, 

When  like  a  silvery  vein  through  the  dark  ore, 
,  A  smooth  bright  current  sfliding  to  the  west 

Bore  our  light  bark  to  that  enchanted  shore. 
It  was  a  lovely  plain — spacious  and  fair, 

And  blessed  with  all  delights  that  earth  can  hold; 
Celestial  odors  filled  the  fragrant  air, 

That  breathed  around  that  green  and  pleasant  wold. 

There  may  not  rage  of  frost,  nor  snow,  nor  rain 

Injure  the  smallest  and  most  delicate^  flower; 
Nor  fall  of  hail  wound  the  fair  healthful  plain, 

Nor  the  warm  weather,  nor  the  winter's  shower. 
That  noble  land  is  all  with  blossoms  flowered, 

Shed  by  the  summer  breezes  as  they  jjass; 
Less  leaves  than  blossoms  on  the  trees  are  showered,. 

And  flowers  grow  thicker  in  the  fields  than  grass.. 

We  were  about  to  cross  this  placid  tide 
When  lol  an  angel  on  our  vision  broke, 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Clothed  in  white  ujion  the-  further  sitle; 

He  stood  majestic,  and  thus  sweetly  spoke — 
"  Father,  return,  thy  mission  now  is  o'er. 

God,  wlio  did  bring  thee  here,  now  bids  thee  go; 
Return  in  peace  unto  thy  native  shore, 

And  tell  the  mighty  secrets  thou  dost  know." 

Accordin^^  to  the  Most  Rev.  John  Healy,  D.  D..  LL.  D.,  bishop 
of  Clonfert,  Ireland — the  very  see  founded  by  St.  Brendan  himself 
— the  first  discoverer  of  America  built  his  oratory  on  the  summit 
of  Brandon  Hill,  and  there  conceived  the  bold  idea  of  seekin"-  the 
promised  land  beyond  the  billows  of  the  Atlantic — "the  Fortunate 
Islands  " — the  continent  of  America. 

Brandon  Hill,  continues  Bishop  Healy,  in  his  work  entitled 
"  Ireland's  Ancient  Schools  and  Scholars,"  rises  over  the  ocean  to 
the  height  of  3, 127  feet  at  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  barony 
of  Corcaguiny  to  the  south  of  the  bay  of  Tralee  (Ireland).  The 
entire  promontory  of  Corcaguiny  is  one  range  of  bare  and  lofty  hills, 
at  the  extremity  of  which  Mount  Brandon  rises  as  a  huge  detached 
cone  overlooking  the  western  ocean. 

It  was  a  daring  thought  to  build  his  cell  and  oratory  on  the 
bare  summit  of  this  lone  mountain,  which  is  frequently  covered 
with  clouds  and  nearly  always  swept  by  the  breezes  that  rise  from 
the  Atlantic  ocean.  But  on  a  clear  day  the  spectacle  from  its 
summit  is  one  of  sublime  and  unapproachable  grandeur.  All  the 
bold  hills  and  headlands  from  Arran  to  Kenmare,  that  go  out  to 
meet  the  waves,  are  visible  from  its  summit.  The  rocky  islets  of 
the  Skelligs  and  the  Maherees  are  the  sentinels  that  guard  its  base. 
Inland,  the  spectator  can  cast  his  gaze  over  half  of  the  south  of 
Ireland  — mountain  and  valley,  lake  and  stream,  and  plain  and 
town,  stretching  far  away  to  the  east  and  south. 

But  the  eye  ever  turns  seaward  to  the  grand  panorama  pre- 
sented by  the  ultimate  ocean.  No  other  such  sea  view  can  be  had 
in  the  British  islands;  and  St.  Brendan,  while  dwelling  on  the 
mountain  summit,  saw  it  in  all  its  varying  moods — at  early  mornin'^, 
when  the  glory  of  the  sun  was  first  diffused  over  its  wide  reaches; 
at  midnight,  when  the  stars  that  swept  round  the  pole  fear  to  dip 
themselves  in  the  baths  of  the  ocean;  at  even— above  all,  at  even 
—  when  the  setting  sun  went  to  his  home  beyond  the  sea,  and  the 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

line  of  light  along  the  glowing  west  seemed  a  road  of  living  gold 
to  the  "Fortunate  Islands,"  where,  supposedly,  the  sorrows  of 
earth  never  enter,  and  peace  and  beauty  forever  dwell. 

It  was  a  dim  tradition  of  man's  lost  paradise  floating  down 
the  stream  of  time,  for  with  curious  unanimity  the  poets  and  sages 
of  both  Greece  and  Rome  spoke  of  these  Islands  of  the  Blessed 
as  located  somewhere  in  the  western  ocean.  The  same  idea,  from 
earliest  times,  has  taken  strong  hold  of  the  Celtic  imagination, 
and  reveals  itself  in  many  strange  tales  which  were  extremely  popu- 
lar, especially  with  the  peasantry  of  the  western  coast. 

To  this  day  the  existence  of  O'Brazil,  an  enchanted   land  of 
beauty,  which  is  seen  sometimes  on  the  blue   rim  of  the  ocean,  is  • 
very    confidently    believed    in    by    the    fishermen  of   the   western 
coast.      It  is  seen  from  Arran  once  every  seven  years,  as  St.  Bren- 
dan saw  it  in  olden  times,  like  a  fairy  city  on  the  horizon's  verge — 

And  often  now,  amid  the  purple  haze 

That  evening  breathed  on  the  horizon's  rim, 

Methought,  as  there  I  sought  my  wished-for  home, 
I  could  descry,  amid  the  water's  green. 

Full  many  a  diamond  shrine  and  golden  dome, 
And  crystal  palaces  of  dazzling  sheen.  , 

St.  Brendan  resolved  to  seek  out  in  the  far  western  sea  a  land 
which,  for  want  of  abetter  name,  was  spoken  of  by  him  among 
his  brethren  as  the  Promised  Land,  the  Blessed  Islands — a  land 
known  only  in  the  legends,  but  which  the  saint  and  the  scholars  of 
his  time  figured  out  as  of  necessity  having  an  actual  existence.  He 
therefore  fasted  with  his  brother-monks  for  forty  days,  and  then, 
choosing  fourteen  of  them  to  be  his  companions  on  his  adventur- 
ous voyage,  he  made  ready  his  ship,  and,  strengthened  by  the 
encouraging  endorsement  of  his  undertaking  by  St.  Enda  and 
others,  he  embarked. "    • 

For  seven  years  he  sailed  the  western  wave  and  touched  the 
eastern  shores  of  this  continent,  not  by  accident,  but  through 
intent,  his  chief  purpose  being  to  confirm  his  calculations  that 
there  was   land  to  the  far  west,  and  by  discovering  that  land  dis- 

*See  manuscript  copies  of  his  Seven  Years'  Voyages  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
and  Cardinal  Moran's  Latin  Life  of  St.  15rendan. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


prove  the  erroneous  notion  then  held  by  even  some  of  the  learned 
of  Europe  and  still  accepted  by  the  masses  in  the  time  of  Colum- 
bus, a  thousand  years  later,  that  the  earth  was  Hat,  and  that 
beyond  the  then  unknown  islands  of  the  eastern  Atlantic,  the 
ultima  thule,  nothing  existed  but  an  interminable  ocean,  covered 
with  cold  fogs — the  home'  of  tempests  and  terrors  and  terrible  sea 
monsters. 

The  return  of  St.  Brendan,  after  seven  years  of  voyaging,  and 
the  accounts  which  he  gave  of  his  discoveries,  coupled  with  his 
re-enforced  conclusion  that  the  earth  was  a  sphere  and  that  the 
then  debated  and  almost  execrated  doctrine  of  the  antipodes  was 
not  only  tenable,  but  a  fact,  caused  to  be  noised  abroad  through- 
out Ireland,  and  also  on  the  continent,  particularly  among  the 
clergy  and  the  scholars  of  that  day,  the  fame  of  his  voyages,  his 
discoveries,  and  the  proofs  they  afforded  of  his  previous  teachings 
against  the  false  idea  that  the  earth  was  flat,  and  that  the  con- 
demned antipodal  doctrine  was  nevertheless  true.  Baldwin's 
"Prehistoric  Nations,"  p.  401,  as  quoted  by  Dillon,  says  that  an 
Irish  scholar,  on  being  summoned  before  Pope  Zachary,  in  748, 
charged  with  heresy  on  the  subject  of  the  antipodes,  admitted  the 
charge  by  declaring  "  that  the  Irish  were  accustomed  to  communi- 
cate with  a  trans-Atlantic  world." 

Tradition  among  the  early  Irish  monks  and  scholars,  and 
allusions  by  the  Annalists,"  invest  the  voyage  and  discoveries  of 
St.  Brendan  with  about  equal  shares  of  fact  and  fancy.  The  rea- 
son why  the  fact  part  was  not  more  prominently  set  forth  at  the 
time,  was  not  merely  that  the  compass  and  the  art  of  navigation, 
as  we  now  understand  them,  were  then  unknown — thereby  render- 
ing it  impossible  to  give  precise  location  of  discovered  countries, 
distances  and  the  like  exact  information— but  rather  was  it  that 
anything  tending  to  disprove  the  settled  yet  erroneous  belief  of  the 
common  people  that  the  earth  was  an  extended  flat  plain,  and  that 
the  sun  actually  rose  through  a  great  opening  in  the  east  and 
descended  through  a  like  vast  hole  in  the  western  ocean,  would 
also  serve  to  unsettle,  if  not  completely  destroy,  the  religious  faith 


*See  Annals  of  Clonmacnois  and  of  Ulster. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  the  people.      To  the  minds  of  many  reh'gious  teachers  nothing, 
however  worthy,  could  compensate  for  so  great  an  evil. 

Rather  than  openly,  and  without  prospect  of  good,  contradict 
the  apparent  fact,  evidenced  to  the  people  daily  by  their  sense  of 
sight,  that  the  sun  rose  and  actually  moved  across  the  vault  of 
heaven,  and  the  scriptural  fact  that  Joshua  commanded  that  same 
sun  to  stand  still  in  its  course  on  a  certain  occasion,  these  mon- 
astic scholars,  who  preceded  Galileo  and  Copernicus  by  centuries, 
fearing  for  the  religious  faith  of  the  masses,  spoke  in  whispers  and 
behind  closed  doors  of  their  scientific  and  practical  belief  in  the 
rotundity  of  the  earth,  its  revolution  on  its  axis,  and  the  evidences 
of  such  gained  in  part  by  the  voyages  and  discoveries  of  St.  Bren- 
dan and  others.  It  is  such  considerations  as  these  that  account 
for  the  fact  that  much  greater  publicity  was  not  given  to  the  dis- 
covery of  America  by  St.  Brendan  in  the  sixth  century. 

It  can,  therefore,  be  asserted  as  a  truth  that  we  do  not  have 
to  wait  until  Columbus'  day  for  a  Catholic  discoverer  of  this  conti- 
nent. That  first  discoverer  was  not  in  the  person  of  a  Norseman, 
but,  rather,  in  that  of  a  pious  Irish  monk,  who  received  both  his 
secular  and  religious  training  and  instructions  from  persons  taught 
by  St.  Patrick  himself,  nearly  one  hundred  years  before. 

Investigation  which  has  recently  been  undertaken  by  some  of 
the  best  scholars  of  Ireland,  and  which  is  backed  by  liberal  patrons, 
will,  it  is  hoped,  bring  into  clearer  light  the  truth  of  the  claim,  that 
St.  Brendan  the  Navigator,  an  Irish  monk  and  holy  bishop,  the 
founder  of  the  see  of  Clonfert,  Ireland,  was  the  first  discoverer  of 
the  American  continent. 

The  subsequent  discovery  of  the  shores  of  this  continent  by 
the  Norsemen  in  the  year  looi  led  to  no  practical  results;  it  was 
reserved  for  Christopher  Columbus,  the  renowned  Genoese  and 
devout  Catholic,^  to  be,  as  he  himself  believed  he  was,  the  Provi- 


*The  term  Catholic  need  not  be,  and  it  is  not  here,  used  in  any  boastful  sense 
as  characterizing  Christopher  Columbus  as  the  recognized  ])ractical  iliscoverer  of 
this  continent.  It  would  be  needless,  and,  to  a  degree,  senseless,  to  thus  employ  or 
emphasize  it;  for,  as  late  as  the  day  of  Columbus,  1492,  Christianity  was  known 
under  no  other  form  than  the  Catholic  form.  It  was  not  until  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury later,  1.517,  that  what  is  now  known  as  Protestant  Christianity  had  its  origin 
with  Martin  Luther,  in  Germany. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


dential  instrument  employed  to  the  great  end  that  this  continent 
be  brought  within  the  elevating  and  civilizing  influences  of  the 
Christian  religion. 

As  far  as  subsequent  practical  results  are  concerned,  no  one 
can  deny  that  Christopher  Columbus  was  the  real  discoverer  of 
America.  The  notable  year  of  his  great  discovery,  1492,  saw  a 
whole  continent  added  to  the  map  of  the  world,  and  also  the  begin- 
ning of  bright  prospects  for  spreading  the  gospel  of  the  Man-God 
in  the  newly  discovered  region. 

It   will  not   deprive  the   great   Christopher  Columbus  of  any 
just  credit  that  may  be  due  to  him  on  account  of  his  discovery  of  the 
western  continent  to  here  record   the   facts,  not  generally  known, 
that,  from  a  period  long  before  the  time   of  St.    Brendan,  in    the 
sixth  century,  down  almost  to  our  own  time,  the  religious  orders  in 
the  Catholic  church  were  the  preservers  of  all  kinds  of  knowledge 
and  letters,  both  sacred  and  profane.      The  monasteries   were  the 
archives  in  which  were  stored  the  rich   fruits  of  their  labors  and 
studies.      There  was  intercommunication  between  monks  of  differ- 
ent monasteries  not  only   in   the   same   country   but  also   between 
those  of  different  countries,  even  between  those  of  the  west  and 
those  of  the  far  east.      St.  Brendan  was  in  communication  with  all 
the  Irish  monasteries,  as  well  as  with  many  outside;  and  represent- 
atives  of    these   ancient  schools   going  abroad   to  establish  other 
schools   or  to   teach   in   those  already   in   existence   brought   with 
them  the  story  of  St.  Brendan's  seven  years'   voyage  and   his  dis- 
coveries and  experiences.    .Hence  in  every   monastery   in  Europe 
was  recorded  the  voyage  of  the  saint  and  the  extent  to  which  he 
had  been  able  to  demonstrate  the  rotundity  of  the  earth,  its  diurnal 
and  annual  motions,    and   the   physical   facts   deduced   therefrom 
which  at  the  time  had  weight  in  determining  the  teaching  as  to  the 
antipodes. 

The  monks  of  the  convent  of  La  Rabida,  who  took  such  deep 
interest  in  Christopher  Columbus,  and  championed  his  cause  before 
Queen  Isabella,  of  Spain,  knew  well  the  prospects  of  success 
which  were  before  him  in  his  undertaking  to  find  an  all-water  pass- 
age to  the  East  Indies — to  discover  a  new  country.  They  knew, 
as  Columbus  knew,  that  land  was  to  the  far   west— the   land   that 

"~(27) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

St.  Brendan  saw  many  centuries  before.  The  Columbuses,  the 
Cabots,  the  Vespuccis,  and  all  the  men  of  that  period,  1492  to- 
1520,  who  became  famous  through  their  voyages  and  discoveries — 
every  one  of  them  must  have  heard  of  the  Irish  navigator  and 
learned  from  the  sages'  of  the  monasteries  the  story  of  his  seven 
years  of  seafaring.  The  astronomers  and  mathematicians  among 
the  monks,  and  even  those  of  the  laity,  were  a  unit  as  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  antipodes.  The  learned  everywhere  questioned  and 
scouted  the  false  notion  that  the  earth  was  an  extended  plain  with 
an  impassable  ocean  hemming  it  in  on  one  side,  while  fastnesses 
and  mountains  hedged  it  on  the  other.  They  knew  and  accurately 
demonstrated  that  it  was  a  globe  many  generations  before  circum- 
navigation was  an  accomplished  fact. 

When,  therefore,  Isabella  gave  up  her  jewels  and  had  them 
sold  to  aid  Columbus  in  his  preparations,  she  had  assurances  far 
beyond  those  which  day-dreamers  are  accustomed  to  give.  The 
scholars  among  the  monks  had  given  her  proofs  as  to  the  prospects 
of  success,  and  they  reminded  her  of  the  stories  which  for  centuries 
had  been  told  of  St.  Brendan.  The  same  arguments  that  were 
used  to  induce  Isabella  to  give  up  her  trinkets  were  those  which 
comforted  Columbus  with  the  hope  of  finding  a  new  land.  The 
only  difference  was  that  he  was  able  to  do  the  calculating  himself, 
while  she  had  some  one  to  do  it  for  her.  In  any  case,  neither  Co- 
lumbus nor  Isabella  was  much  in  the  dark.  Brendan  had  set  up  a 
beacon  light  on  the  other  shore.  He  had  indicated  the  direction 
in  which  to  sail — he  had  staked  out  the  way.  Even  if  centuries 
had  elapsed  since  Brendan's  day,  the  story  of  his  voyage  and  dis- 
covery was  ever  new.  True,  it  had  to  be  told  in  whispers  and 
withheld  from  the  ignorant  lest  they  sink  back  into  savagery  and 
barbarism;  but  the  facts  were  recorded  in  the  monasteries  and  the 
majority  of  the  monks  were  acquainted  with  them. 

No  matter  what  other  motives  may  have  been  ascribed  to 
Columbus  as  impelling  him  in  his  voyages — whether  it  was  to 
determine  the  existence  of  an  all-water  route  to  India,  or  an  itch 
for  the  possible  discovery  of  other  islands  west  of  the  Canaries  with 
a  view  to  please  the  Spanish  sovereigns — Ferdinand  and  Isabella — 
it  is  certain  that  he  had  for  a  long  time  previously  been  convinced 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


that  Asia  or  other  lands  inhabited  by  other  people  lay  to  the  west- 
ward; and  he  felt  a  Providential  impulse  which,  even  in  his  fifty- 
sixth  year,  urged  him— compelled  him— to  go  thither  over  a  track- 
less ocean,  that,  through  his  practical  pathfinding,  the  religion  of 
Christ  might  be  brought  to  the  people  of  that  distant  region.  He 
himself  in  his  letters  tells  us,  in  substance,  that  paving  the  way  for 
the  Christian  missionary  was  the  primary  object  he  had  in  view  in 
making  the  hazardous  voyages,  which  no  other  man  of  his  imme- 
diate day  dared  undertake. 

In  keeping  with  the  idea  of  Columbus,  the   Spanish  explorers 
of  the  newly-found  continent  were  always  accompanied    by  priests 
of  the  Catholic   church.       These   holy  men   often   baptized   whole 
companies   of  savages,  preparing  them   for   life   beyond  the  cruel 
grave  into  which  the  military  authorities  but  too  often  hurled  them. 
These    brave   leaders    of    the    religious    orders,    Franciscans, 
Dominicans  and  Jesuits  as   they  were,  christianized   the    Indians, 
established  missions  and  taught  the  natives  the  rudiments  of  agri- 
culture.     They  taught  them  to  read  and   write,  too — arts  which 
the  red  men  enjoyed  through  Catholic  labor  and  liberality  more  than 
a  hundred  years  before  the  Puritan  had  established  himself  upon  the 
shores  of  New  England.     From  the  Atlantic  coast  across  the  coun- 
try to  Mexico  and  to  the  Pacific,  through  what  are  now  the  states 
of  Florida,  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  these  holy  and  zeal- 
ous missionaries  proceeded,  cross  in  .hand,  often  ending  their  untold 
trials  and  sufferings  by  death  at  the  hands  of   the  savage  Indians, 
whom  they  labored  so  incessantly  to  save.      For  upwards  of  a  hun- 
dred years  after  the   discovery  by   Columbus  the  south   and  west 
were  the  vast  territory  explored,  christianized  and  bettered  by  the 
Spanish  missionaries  only. 

Following  the  good  work  thus  accomplished  in  the  south  and 
west,  missionaries  of  the  Jesuit  and  Recollect  orders  from  France, 
about  1602,  began  their  noble  work  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence river.  They  pressed  forward,  doing  a  vast  amount  of  good 
and  everywhere  winning  the  hearts  of  the  Indian  tribes  along  the 
great  lakes,  across  to  the  upper  Mississippi  and  down  that  mighty 
stream  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  conclusion  aimed  at  and  to  be  drawn  from  an  amplification 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  what  is  merely  hinted  at  here  is,  that  America  is  Catholic  by 
discovery,  by  exploration,  to  a  degree  by  defense  and  by  the  har- 
mony that  exists  between  our  political  institutions  and  the  genius 
of  the  church.  The  four  corners  of  not  only  the  country  but  the 
continent  itself,  bear  the  marks  of  Catholicity.  Our  oldest  Amer- 
ican cities,  the  chief  rivers  of  the  country,  and  many  of  its  great 
natural  features  bear  the  names  of  saints — men  and  women  whose 
lives  have  been  made  glorious  and  illustrious  by  the  practice  of 
those  virtues  which  the  church  proposes  to  her  children  everywhere 
and  in  every  age.  The  Catholic  church  and  her  children  are, 
therefore,  no  strangers  in  this  "Land  of  the  Free."  The  Catho- 
licity of  the  church,  implying  universality  even  as  to  place,  pre- 
cludes its  being  an  exotic  anywhere,  but  more  especially  in  this 
country — a  land  which  it  has  reclaimed  from  the  wastes  of  oblivion 
and  from  the  nothingness  of  ignorance. 

The  pioneer  forerunners  or  reclaimers,  not  to  mention  St. 
Brendan,  Columbus  or  Amerigo  Vespucci,  were  Ponce  de  Leon, 
the  discoverer  of  what  is  now  the  state  of  Florida;  Balboa,  the 
discoverer  of  the  Pacific  ocean;  De  Soto,  who  discovered  the  lower 
Mississippi  and  first  raised  the  cross  in  the  country  to  the  west  of 
it,  and  Father  Marquette,  who  discovered  and  explored  the  upper 
Mississippi;  LaSalle,  who,  as  a  navigator  and  explorer,  conquered 
the  inland  seas  of  America  and  opened  them  to  a  commerce  which 
to-day  is  the  wonder  of  the  commercial  world;  Verazzani,  who  first 
entered  New  York  bay,  was  as  reliant  upon  the  crucifix  as  upon  the 
helm  of  his  ship;  Cortez,  who  opened  the  way  to  the  civilization  of 
our  adjoining  republic,  Mexico,  and  the  planting  of  the  faith  upon 
its  soil;  and  Cartier  and  Champlain,  whose  names  are  associated 
with  Canadian  civilization,  the  one  having  named  its  great  river 
after  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  other,  after  discovering  Lake  Ontario 
and  the  territory  so  named,  was  subsequently  himself  honored  by 
having  the  beautiful  lake  Champlain  named  after  him.  And  thus, 
in  the  lives  and  works  of  such  men  and  their  numerous  coreligion- 
ists, the  Catholic  faith  and  civilization  were  planted  on  these 
shores. 


(30) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OBSTACLES    TO    THE  SPREAD  OF  CATHOLICITY  IN  THE   UNITED  STATES 

BRITISH    PENAL     LAWS      FOLLOW     CATHOLICS     TO     AMERICA 

CATHOLICS    VS.     PROTESTANTS    FOR    LIBERTY    OF    CONSCIENCE. 

FROM  what  has  been  outhned  in  the  preceding  pages — where  it 
has  been  shown  that  to  the  CathoHc  church  and  her  children 
are  due  the  honor  and  credit  of  discovering,  exploring  and  chris- 
tianizing this  country,  and  even  to  a  degree  developing  and  defending 
it — one  would  conclude  that  the  proscription  of  the  Catholic  religion 
in  this  land  would  be  about  the  very  last  thing  to  be  thought  of  by  the 
colonists  and  early  settlers  or  their  descendants.  But  disappoint- 
ments follow,  as  a  shadow  the  substance,  in  the  wake  of  all  human 
affairs,  and  it  was  so  with  the  Catholic  church  in  these  early  days, 
even  in  respect  to  its  spirituality.  It  was  proscribed  by  putting  in 
force  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  the  infamous  penal  statutes  .with 
which  England  attempted  the  extirpation  of  Catholicity  on  British 
soil  and  in  Ireland. 

Lord  Baltimore  established  civil  with  religious  liberty  in  Mary- 
land in  1634.  Our  own  Bancroft,  the  historian,  sa)'S  of  it:  "The 
Roman  Catholics,  who  were  oppressed  by  the  laws  of  England, 
were  sure  to  find  a  peaceful  asylum  in  the  quiet  harbors  of  the 
Chesapeake,  and  there,  too,  Protestants  were  sheltered  from  Prot- 
estant intolerance."  The  first  notable  instance  of  protection 
for  Protestants  in  Maryland  was  the  reception  of  the  \'irginia  Pur- 
itans, who  were  expelled  from  that  colony  in  1642;  and  a  promi- 
nent instance  of  the  bad  faith  and  intolerance  of  the  Puritans  them- 
selves was  the  rebellion  of  these  very  men,  heading  a  mob  against 
the  authority  of  Lord  Baltimore  and  the  Catholics  just  two 
years  later. 

IbT) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

On  the  restoration  of  peace  and  order  in  1664  by  Gov.  Cal- 
vert, who  had  arrived  with  a  body  of  troops,  the  very  first  thing- 
done  by  the  general  assembly,  which  was  Catholic,  was  the  passage 
of  the  Toleration  act—"  an  act,"  says  McSherry,  "  that  must  for- 
ever render  memorable  the  founders  and  people  of  Maryland." 

The  bad  faith  shown  by  both  Protestants  and  Puritans  was  not 
enough  to  prevent  the  great  Catholic  majority  and  the  Catholic 
authorities  from  exhibiting  their  love  for  justice,  the  rights  of  con- 
science and  humanity,  in  the  passage  of  the  act  referred  to,  the 
words  of  which  are  as  follows: 

Whereas,  The  enforcing  of  conscience  in  matters  of  religion,  hath  fre- 
quently fallen  out  to  be  of  dangerous  consequence  in  those  commonwealths  where 
it  has  been  practiced,  and  for  the  more  quiet  and  peaceable  government  of  this 
province,  and  the  better  to  preserve  mutual  love  and  unity  amongst  the  inhabit- 
ants; therefore,  be  it  enacted,  that  no  person  whatsoever  within  this  province,  or 
the  islands,  ports,  harbors,  creeks  or  havens  thereunto  belonging,  professing  to 
believe  iii  Jesus  Christ,  shall  from  henceforth  be  anyways  troubled  or  molested,  or 
discontenanced  for,  or  in  respect  of,  his  or  her  religion,  nor  in  the  free  exercise 
thereof  within  this  province  or  the  islands  thereunto  belonging,  nor  any  way  com- 
pelled to  the  belief  or  exercise  of  any  other  religion  against  his  or  her 
consent.    *  *  * 

It  was  only  five  years  after  the  passage  of  this  memorable  act 
when,  opportunity  offering,  the  Puritians,  with  aid  from  England, 
repealed  the  Toleration  act,  and  substituted  for  it  a  decree  deny- 
ing the  protection  of  the  law  to  Catholics  and  denouncing  their 
faith  and  practices.  * 

It  was  in  1692  that  a  Protestant  governor  was  given  the  place 
of  Gov.  Calvert,  and  the  Anglican  church  and  the  penal  code 
were  established  by  law  in  Catholic  Maryland.  In  1704  a  law  was 
passed  which,  if  the  writer  is  not  at  fault  in  memory,  was  entitled 
"A  law  to  prevent  the  increase  of  Popery."  That  law,  together 
with  kindred  enactments,  is  thus  summarized  by  the  late  John 
O'Kane  Murray: 

1.  Catholic  bishops  and  priests  were  forbidden  to  say  mass,  or  in  any  way 
exercise  their  ministry. 

2.  Catholics  were  deprived  of  the  elective  franchise  unless  they  renounced 
their  faith. 

:'..     Catholics  were  forbidden  to  teach. 

*  Oddities  of  Colonial  Legislation.— Dillon— p.  '6d. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

4.  Catholics  were  obliged  to  support  the  established  (  Anglican  )  church. 

5.  Catholics  were  forced  to  pay  a  doul)le  tax. 

6.  It  was  strongly  recommended  thai  "children  were  to  be  taken  from  the 
pernicious  influence  of  popish  parents." 

7.  A  Catholic  child,  by  becoming   a  Protestant,  could  exact    his   share  of 
property  from  his  parent.s,  "  as  though  they  were  dead  ." 

8.  Catholic  emigrants  were  forl)id(UMi  to  enter  Maryland. 

Except  as  to  permission  being  granted  to  Catholics  to  assist  at 
mass  privately  in  their  own  homes,  all  these  infamous  laws — 
blotches  upon  the  fair  fame  of  Catholic  Maryland— remained  in  force 
for  full  seventy  years,  or  until  the  Revolution,  when  opportunity 
Avas  offered  that  Catholics  might  redress  their  wrongs  by  aiding  in 
patriotically  and  completely  wresting  the  colonies  from  the  control 
of  brutal  England. 

Proscription  of  Catholics  in  New  York  found  its  full  expres- 
sion in  the  assembly  convoked  in  1691,  when  it  was  decreed  that 
all  acts  of  the  assembly  of  1683,  and  those  previous  thereto  favor- 
ing or  tolerating  Catholicity,  were  null  and  void.  So  well  did  the 
spirit  of  oppression  and  intolerance  assert  itself,  that  in  1696  only 
seven  Catholic  families  could  be  found  on  the  whole  of  Manhattan 
island.  A  colonial  act  of  the  year  1700  decreed  that:  (i)  Any 
Catholic  clergyman  found  within  the  limits  of  the  colony  of  New 
York  after  November  i,  1700,  should  be  "deemed  an  incendiary, 
an  enemy  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  shall  be  adjudged  to  suffer 
perpetual  imprisonment."  (2)  If  a  Catholic  priest  escaped  from 
prison,  and  was  retaken,  he  was  to  suffer  death.  (3)  Any  one 
harboring  a  priest  was  liable  to  be  fined  $1,000,  and  to  stand  three 
days  on  the  pillory. 

The  following  year,  1701,  a  law  was  passed  by  the  same 
delectable  authority  in  New  York  excluding  Catholics  from  office 
and  depriving  them  of  the  right  to  vote.  In  1702  good  Queen 
Ann  granted  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  New 
York,  "  Papists  excepted."  This  was  followed  in  17 18  by  acts  of 
the  British  parliament,  having  force  in  this  country  as  well  as  in 
England,  that  for  the  apprehension  of  a  Popish  bishop,  priest  or 
Jesuit,  $500  were  offered  as  a  reward,  the  conditions  being  that  he 
be  prosecuted  until  convicted  of  saying  mass,  or  exercising  any 
other  function  of  a  Popish  bishop   or   priest.      (2)    "Any   Popish 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

bishop,  priest  or  Jesuit"  found  saying  mass  or  exercising  any  other 
pari  of  his  office  was  to  be  perpetually  imprisoned.  (3)  Any 
Catholic  convicted  of  keeping  school,  or  educating  youth,  was  to 
be  perpetually  imprisoned.  (4)  Any  person  sending  his  child 
abroad  to  be  educated  in  the  Catholic  faith  should  be  fined  $500. 
(5)   No  Catholic  could  acquire  title  to  lands. 

The  same  spirit  found  sway  in  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  in 
Georgia,  and  throughout  New  England.  It  were  safer  to  be  a 
wolf  or  a  bear  in  nearly  any  community  in  this  country  previous  to 
the  Revolution  than  to  be  a  Catholic. 

If  it  be  asked  why  this  should  be  so,  the  answer  is  that  the 
power  and  hateful  dominion  of  England  were  back  of  it.  From 
the  days  of  lecherous  Harry,  but  more  particularly  since  William 
III,  down  to  George  III,  when  liberty  became  a  mockery,  the 
Catholics  within  the  power  of  these  monarchs  were  treated  as  if 
wild  beasts,  without  rights,  feelings  or  conscience.  It  was  not 
enough  to  reduce  them  to  the  level  of  "hewers  of  wood  and  draw- 
ers of  water,"  but  they  must  be  extirpated.  Such  was  England's 
decree  and  such  was  the  purpose  of  English  bigots  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent  and  among  the  early  colonists,  and  such  it  is  among 
England's  emissaries  in  this  country  to-day. 

But  the  Revolution,  which  called  forth  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  in  1776,  constrained  the  continental  congress  in 
1774  to  pronounce  in  favor  of  the  broadest  toleration  in  religion. 
In  other  words  the  Protestants  and  Puritans  were  very  wilHng  to 
obey  the  king  and  the  parliament  in  oppressing  Cathohcs,  but  just 
as  soon  as  oppression  began  to  be  visited  upon  themselves  they  were 
very  willing  to  look  to  these  same  Catholics  for  help  against  the 
very  power  which  they  themselves  obeyed  in  efforts  to  crush  out 
both  the  Catholics  and  their  faith. 

From  the  day  of  the  achievement  of  the  independence  of  this 

country a  noble  work  in  which  Catholics  took  a  most  prominent 

and  decided  part — down  to  our  own  time,  the  spirits  of  William 
of  Orange,  of  the  good  Oueen  Ann  and  of  George  III  have  been 
cropping  out  whenever  opportunity  offered.  While  the  national 
constitution  may  declare,  that  "Congress  shall  make  no  law 
respecting   an   establishment    of  religion,    or  prohibiting   the  free: 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

exercise  thereof,"  yet  we  know  that  several  of  the  states  have 
continued  to  keep  aHve  the  prescriptive  spirit  of  the  Enghsh  penal 
statutes.  We  also  know  that  both  societies  and  individuals  who 
have  been  inoculated  with  the  virus  of  prejudice  and  religious  big- 
otry, from  time  to  time,  in  our  day,  allow  themselves  to  riot  in 
their  day-dream  of  extirpating  the  Catholic  faith  and  all  profess- 
ors of  the  same.  The  days  of  know-nothingism,  the  times  of 
burning  Catholic  churches  and  convents,  and  the  more  modern 
but  well-recognized  cry  of  the  A.  P.  A.,  all  tell  the  same  story  of 
intolerance,  bigotry,  false  witness  and  religious  rancor. 

Speaking  along  this  line  of  thought  in  1790,  Archbishop  Car- 
roll said:  "  Having  renounced  subjection  to  England,  the  Ameri- 
can states  found  it  necessary  to  form  new  constitutions  for  their 
future  government,  and  happily  a  free  toleration  of  religion  was 
made  a  fundamental  point  in  all  these  new  constitutions;  and  in 
many  of  them,  not  only  a  toleration  was  decreed,  but  also  a  per- 
fect equality  of  civil  rights  for  persons  of  every  Christian  profes- 
sion. In  some,  indeed,  the  yet  unextinguished  spirit  of  prejudice 
and  intolerance  excluded  Catholics  from  this  equality. 

'  'Many  reasons  concurred  to  produce  this  happy  and  just  article 
in  the  new  constitutions:  (i)  Some  of  the  leading  characters  in  the 
direction  of  American  councils  were,  by  principle,  averse  to  all 
religious  oppression;  and  having  been  much  acquainted  with  the 
manners  and  doctrines  of  Roman  Catholics,  represented  strongly 
the  injustice  of  excluding  them  from  any  civil  rights.  (2)  Catholics 
concurred  as  generally,  and  with  equal  zeal,  in  repelling  that 
oppression  which  first  produced  the  hostilities  with  Great  Britain; 
and  it  would  have  been  impolitic  as  well  as  unjust  to  deprive  them 
of  a  common  share  of  advantages  purchased  with  common  danger 
and  united  exertions.  (3)  The  assistance,  or  at  least  the  neutrality, 
of  Canada  was  deemed  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  United 
States;  and  to  give  equal  rights  to  Roman  Catholics  might  tend  to 
dispose  the  Canadians  favorably  to  the  American  cause.  Lastly,. 
France  began  to  show  a  disposition  to  befriend  the  United  States, 
and  it  was  conceived  to  be  very  impolitic  to  disgust  that  powerful- 
kingdom  by  unjust  severities  against  the  religion  which  it  professed. '" 

While  on  the  surface  the   religious  liberty  feature   may  have 

(35), 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

been  carried  out,  yet  the  equality  feature,  touching  civil  rights,  was 
not  recognized  until  comparatively  recently  in  several  of  the  states. 
In  New  Hampshire,  down  until   1878,  it  was  required  by  the  con- 
stitution of  that  state  that  every  member  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, and  also  of   the  state   senate,  should   be  of   the  Protestant 
religion.      The  governor  of   the  state  must  also  be  a  Protestant. 
None  other  than   Protestants  were  eligible  to  office.      In  the  state 
of  New  York,  civil  rights  were  accorded  to  Catholics  only  as  late 
as   1806;    in  Massachusetts,   in   1821;    in  Virginia,    1830;  in  New 
Jersey,  1844;  while,  in  contrast  with  these,  all  the  states  in  which 
Catholics  were  the  original  proprietors,  such  as  Florida,  Louisiana, 
Texas,  Indiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama,    Maine,   Missouri,  Arkansas, 
Michigan,  Iowa,  Wisconsin  and  California,  solemn  treaties  guaran- 
teed both  civil  rights  and  the  free  exercise  of  religion  and  perfect 
liberty  of  conscience.     Without  any  intention  to  compare  Catho- 
licity with  Protestantism  in  these  respects,  the  comparison,  never- 
theless, suggests  itself —thrusts  itself  forward,  because  of  the  facts. 
When  the  local  laws  of  a  state  are  out  of  sympathy  with  the 
general  spirit  of  the  national  constitution,  the  inharmony  so  strikes 
the  citizen  that  he  inquires  and  investigates.      If   he   is   intelligent 
and  fair-minded,  he  sees  the  drift  of  affairs,  and  both  his  sympathy 
and  his  sense  of  justice  are  appealed  to  in  the  interests  of  the  citi- 
zens who  are  discriminated  against.      It  is  this  way  that  the  several 
states  have  been  compelled   to  wipe  out   from   their   statute  books 
every  discriminating  and  proscriptive  law  that,  from  early  colonial 
days,  existed  against  Catholics.      It  was  a  slow  process,  it  is  true, 
but  if  slow  it  was  sure  as  fate  itself.      It  was  bound  to  come  when- 
ever English  power  waned  in  this  country. 

This  tendency  in  the  public  mind  began  to  show  itself,  as  we 
have  seen,  as  early  as  1774,  and  doubtless  for  the  reasons  assigned 
in  the  extract  we  have  made  from  the  writings  of  Bishop  Carroll, 
wherein  it  is  implied  that  aside  from  there  being  fair-minded  men 
among  the  colonists  there  was  intelligence  enough  among  the 
leaders  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  Catholic  church,  although 
robbed  and  outlawed  in  England  and  Germany,  was  nevertheless 
a  great  power  in  the  temporal  world,  and  that  it  would  not  be  wise 
to  continue  to  proscribe  it  on  the  American  continent,  especially  in 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

view  of  the  strugf^le    for  liberty  which   the   colonists   were  making 
against  England. 

Canada  was  largely  Catholic  at  the  time,  and  if  her  co-opera- 
tion was  not  to  be  had,  her  ill  will  might  be  averted  by  fair  treat- 
ment of  Catholics  among  the  colonists.  France  was  Catholic  and 
the  colonists  were  looking  to  that  kingdom  for  the  assistance 
which  they  afterward  received.  Spain,  too,  was  Catholic,  and 
its  assistance  for  the  work  of  colonial  independence  was  extended 
and  accepted,  as  was  that  also  of  Catholic  Poland. 

Then  there  were  the  prominent  Catholics  in  both  the  army 
and  navy,  and  high  in  the  councils  of  the  rebels.  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Commander 
Jeremiah  0'P)rien  fought  the  first  naval  battle  of  the  Revolution, 
May  II,  1775,  in  Machias  Bay,  Maine,  in  which  he  captured  two 
British  ships.  It  was  Commodore  John  Barry  who  earned  the  title 
of  "  Father  of  the  American  Navy,"  and  who  was  the  instructor  of 
his  able  successors,  Murray,  Decatur,  Dale  and  Stewart.  Beside 
the  Moylans,  the  Barrys,  the  O'Briens,  the  Carrolls  arid  thousands 
of  other  Catholics  prominent  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  there 
were  also  LaFayette,  Pulaski,  Kosciusko  and  other  foreign  Catho- 
lics who  were  on  the  side  of  liberty.  All  the  Catholics  among  the 
colonists  were  a  unit  against  England  and  entered  the  continental 
army  whole-hearted  for  the  cause  of  liberty.  There  was  not  an 
Arnold  to  be  found  amongst  them,  no,  not  even  a  skulker  or  a 
■coward.  So  well  esteemed  were  Catholics  in  the  hour  of  need, 
that  even  on  the  roster  of  the  "  Life  Guard  "'  of  Gen.  Washington 
we  find  such  names  as  those  of  Thomas  Gillen,  Jeremiah  Driscoll, 
S.  Daily,  Charles  Dougherty,  William  Hennessy,  Dennis  Mori- 
arty,  James  Hughes  and  others. 

When,  therefore.  Gen.  Washington  finding  in  the  camp  at 
Boston  some  preparations  to  continue  the  old,  silly  custom  of 
burning  the  Pope  in  effigy,  he  wrote  the  following  order,  bearing 
date  November  5,   1775: 

"  As  the  commander-in-chief  has  been  apprised  of  a  design 
formed  for  the  observance  of  that  ridiculous  and  childish  custom  of 
burning  the  effigy  of  the  Pope,  he  cannot  help  expressing  his  sur- 
prise that  there  should  be  officers  and  soldiers  in  the  army  so  void 

3  (37) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  common  sense  as  not  to  see  the  impropriety  of  such  a  step.  *  -  * 
It  is  so  monstrous  as  not  to  be  suffered  or  excused;  indeed,  instead 
of  offering  the  most  remote  insult,  it  is  our  duty  to  address  pubHc 
thanks  to  our  (Catholic)  brethren,  as  to  them  we  are  indebted  for 
every  late  success  over  the  common  enemy  in  Canada." 

Many  things  occurred  in  Revolutionary  times  which  had  a  very 
salutary  effect  upon  bigots  generally.  Instead  of  burning  the  Pope 
in  effigy  at  Boston,  in  1775,  three  years  later,  1778,  the  entire 
town  council  assisted  at  Catholic  funeral  services  over  the  body  of 
a  French  officer,  and  marched  in  procession  through  the  streets,  the 
procession  being  headed  by  a  large  cross,  and  the  priests  wearing 
all  the  regalia  of  their  office  and  station  as  proper  for  the  occasion. 
But  these  things  were  the  rare  exceptions  to  the  general  practice 
of  proscribing  both  Catholicity  and  Catholics. 

As  an  everlasting  rebuke  to  the  infamy  of  both  the  British 
government  and  its  emissaries  in  this  country  stand  the  charter 
regulations,  the  assembly  acts  and  decrees,  by  which  the  right  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  ancient  and  Catholic  form  was 
denied  to  all  professors  and  adherents  of  the  Catholic  faith.  The 
late  John  B.  Dillon,  in  his  work  entitled  "Oddities  of  Colonial 
Legislation,"  sets  forth  these  infamous  enactments  against  Cath- 
olics and  freedom  of  conscience,  as  if  to  help  burn  in  deeper  the 
disgrace  and  odium  which  must  forever  attach  to  a  people  and  a 
nation  that  could  subscribe  to  or  enforce  them.  We  quote  extracts 
from  Dillon  as  follows: 

Liberty  of  Conscience  in  Oeorgia— 1732— Extract  from  the  charter  granted 
by  George  II  on  the  9th  of  June,  1732,  for  the  province  of  Georgia: 

"We  do,  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  grant,  establish 
and  ordain,  that  forever  hereafter  there  shall  be  a  liberty  of  conscience  allowed  in 
the  worship  of  God  to  all  persons  inhabiting,  or  which  shall  inhabit,  or  be  resident 
within  our  said  province,  and  that  all  such  persons,  except  papists,  shall  have  a  free 
exercise  of  religion." 

Concerning  Jesuits  in  Massachusetts— lG47--h  is  ordered  and  enacted  by 
authority  of  this  court,  that  no  Jesuit  or  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical  person  (as  they 
are  ternmed)  ordained  by  the  authority  of  the  Pope  or  see  of  Rome,  shall  hence- 
forth at  any  time  repair  to  or  come  within  this  jurisdiction;  and  if  any  person  shall 
give  just  cause  of  suspicion  that  he  is  one  of  such  society  or  order,  he  shall  be 
brought  before  some  of  the  magistrates,  and,  if  he  cannot  free  himself  of  such 
suspicion,  he  shall  be  committed  to  prison  or  bound  over  to  the  next  court  of 
assistants,  to  be  tried  and  proceeded  with,  by  banishment  or  otherwise,  as  the 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

court  shall  see  cause.  And  if  any  person  so  banished  be  taken  the  second  time 
within  this  jurisdiction,  ui-on  lawful  trial  and  conviction,  he  shall  be  put  to 
death;  provided,  this  law  shall  not  exten<l  to  any  such  Jesuit,  spiritual  or  ecclesi- 
astical person,  as  shall  he  cast  uj.on  our  shores  by  shipwreck  or  other  accident,  so^ 
as  he  continue  no  longer  than  till  he  may  have  opportunity  of  passage  for  his- 
departure     *     *     * 

Liberty  of  Conscience  in  Ma^'xac/iusetts— 1696— The  William  and  Mary  charter 
for  Massachusetts  bay  in  New  England,  granted  on  the  3d  of  October,  in  the 
seventh  year  of  their  reign,  has  the  following  among  its  provisions: 

"  We  do,  by  these  presents,  grant,  establish  and  ordain,  that  forever  here^ 
after  there  shall  be  a  liberty  of  conscience  allowed  in  the  worship  of  God  to  all 
Christians  (except  papists)  inhabiting,  or  which  shall  inhabit  or  be  resident  within 
our  said  province  or  territorv." 

An  Art  (ujainst  Jesuifx  and  Popish  Priestsin  New  York, passed  July 31, 1700.— 
Be  it  enacted  by  his  excellency,  the  governor,  council  and  representatives  con- 
vened in  general  assembly,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same, 
that  all  and  every  Jesuit  and  seminary  priest,  missionary,  or  other  spiritual  or 
ecclesiastical  person,  made  or  ordained  by  any  authfirity,  power  or  jurisdiction  , 
derived,  challenged  or  pretended  from  the  Pope  or  see  of  Rome,  now  residing* 
within  this  province,  or  any  part  thereof,  shall  depart  from  and  out  of  the  same  at 
or  before  the  first  day  of  November  next,  in  the  present  year,  seventeen  hundred. 

And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  all  and  every 
Jesuit,  seminary  priest,  missionary,  or  other  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical  person,  made 
or  ordained  by  any  authority,  power  or  jurisdiction,  derived,  challenged  or  pre- 
tended from  the  Pope  or  see  of  Rome,  or  that  shall  profess  himself,  or  otherwise 
appear  to  be  such,  by  preaching  and  teaching  of  others  to  say  any  popish  prayers, 
by  celebrating  masses,  granting  of  absolutions,  or  using  any  other  of  the  Romish 
ceremonies  and  rites  of  worship,  by  what  name,  title  or  degree  soever,  such  person 
shall  be  called  or  known,  who  shall  continue,  abide,  remain,  or  come  into  this 
province.or  any  part  thereof,  after  the  first  day  of  November  aforesaid,  shall  be 
deemed  and  accounted  an  incendiary  and  disturber  of  the  public  peace  and  safetv 
and  an  enemy  to  the  true  Christian  religion,  and  shall  be  adjudged  to  suffer 
perpetual  imprisonment;  and  if  any  person,  being  so  sentenced,  and  actually 
imprisoned,  shall  break  prison  and  make  his  escape,  and  be  afterward  retaken, 
he  shall  suffer  such  pains  of  death,  penalties  and  forfeitures  as  in  cases  of  felony. 
—[Laws  of  New  York  (published  according  to  act  of  general  assemblv  1752)  PP 
87,38.] 

Freedom  of  Conscience  in  New  Jersey,  1698.— That  no  person  or  persons  *  * 
shall  at  anytime  beany  way  molested,  punished  or  disturbed,  *  *  *  Provided, 
this  shall  not  extend  to  any  of  the  Romish  religion,     *     *     * 

In  good  Queen  Ann's  instructions  to  Lord  Cornbury,  New 
Jersey,   1702,  is  found  the  following: 

You  are  to  permit  a  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  persons  (except  papists),  so 
they  maybe  contented  with  a  quiet  and  peaceable  enjoyment  of  the  same     *     *    * 

Liberty  of  Conscience  in  New  Hampshire,  IGSO.—Charles  II,  commissioning 
John  Cutts  president  of  the  council  for  the  provmce  of  New  Hampshire,  among 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Other  things,  charges  him  that,  •'  for  the  greater  ease  and  satisfaction  of  our  said 
loving  subjects,  in  matters  of  religion,  we  hereby  will,  require  and  command,  that 
liberty  of  conscience  shall  be  allowed  unto  all  Protestants,  and  that  such  especially 
as  shall  be  conformable  to  the  rites  of  the  Church  of  England  shall  be  particularly 
countenanced  and  encouraged."— [Laws  of  New  Hampshire,  P.  4.] 

In  \'irginia,  1641,  the  assembly  enacted  "that  no  popish 
recusant  should  at  any  time  hereafter  exercise  the  place  or  places 
of  secret  counselors,  registers,  commissioners,  surveyors  or  sheriffs 
or  any  other  public  place,  but  be  utterly  disabled  for  the  same."  '^ 

From  such  a  state  of  morals  and  conscience  touching  liberty 
of  thought  and  act  as  obtained  among  the  early  settlers  and  their 
descendants,  and  without  further  reference  to  laws  that  now  cause 
men  to  blush  for  humanity's  sake,  it  can  be  seen  at  a  glance, 
how  difficult  was  the  work  which  the  priests  of  the  Catholic  church 
were  called  upon  to  perform.  The  minds  of  the  people  were 
depraved;  the  eccentricities  of  old  age  or  the  results  of  disease 
were  often  called  witchcraft,  which  was  punished  by  death;  it  was 
thought  to  be  a  sacred  duty  to  either  banish  a  Catholic  priest,  or 
kill  him  if  he  persisted  in  remaining  in  the  habitations  of  some  of 
the  early  colonists. 

When  the  masses  were  called  upon  to  enforce  the  behests  of 
corrupt  kings  and  queens  they  in  time  became  corrupt  and  brutal 
themselves,  holding,  as  they  did,  to  the  divine  right  of  kings  to 
rule  both  body  and  soul  as  they  willed.  Ignorance  and  the  lowest 
order  of  superstition  prevailed,  and  to-day  we  are  still  feeling  the 
effects  of  such.  We  can  see  the  people  still  wearing  the  brand 
that  was  burned  into  the  hearts  and  souls  of  their  ancestors.!' 

How  to  efface  that  brand;  how   to  educate  the  heart  and  the 

*  It  should  be  understood  that  John  B.  Dillon,  from  whom  we  quote  the  above, 
while  not  a  Catholic,  was  a  painstaking  and  accurate  historian,  whose  veracity,  as 
such,  has  never  been  called  in  question.  He  was  for  many  years  a  well-known 
and  highly  respected  citizen  of  the  city  of  Indianapolis. 

tThe  case  of  Father  Weinzoepfel,  of  Indiana,  referred  to  in  Chapter  IV  of 
this  book,  where  prosecution  meant  persecution,  is  an  illustration  of  the  evil  effects 
of  the  growth  of  bigotry  and  intolerance  as  developed  from  the  seeds  sown  by  Eng- 
land's agents  among  the  colonists.  The  masses  of  the  non-Catholic  i)eople  were 
taught  to  hate  both  the  Catholic  church  and  her  priests.  That  hatred  grew  strong 
from  what  it  fed  upon,  ignorance,  and  the  year  1843  in  Indiana  witnessed  not  the 
burning  of  churches  and  convents  as  at  Charlestown  and  Philadelphia,  but  a 
trumped  up,  perjured,  proceeding  against  a  priest  with  a  view  to  destroy  him  and 
also  additionally  inflame  the  people  against  Catholicity. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

head;  how  to  bring  these  benighted  people  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  was  the  work,  in  part,  not  only  of  the  missionaries  to  the 
Indians,  but  also  of  those  missionaries  who,  when  the  red  man 
was  fading  from  view,  had  to  deal  with  the  very  men  who  murdered 
and  robbed  the  aborigines.  That  was  the  work  needful  to  be  done 
in  pre-Revolution  days,  and  it  was  the  work  which  the  early  mis- 
sionaries in  the  western  wilderness  had  to  do,  and  which  their  suc- 
cessors down  to  this  day  have  to  do  in  the  fulfillment  of  their 
mission. 

With  the  effect  still  felt  of  laws  either  imported  from  England 
or  enacted  by  the  several  colonial  and  provincial  assemblies  against 
the  Catholic  religion,  and  with  prejudice  in  the  heart  against  its 
pure  teachings,  what  but  almost  insurmountable  difficulties  con- 
fronted even  the  zealous  priests  who  ministered  to  scattered  human- 
ity in  the  Northwest  territory,  or  in  the  early  days  of  Indiana! 

With  Catholicity  tabooed  in  the  east  and  south,  and  wherever 
the  British  were  in  the  ascendant,  proscribed  and  maligned;  with 
few  priests  to  minister  to  those  of  the  faithful  scattered  over  thou- 
sands of  miles  of  territory;  with  every  inducement,  including  natural 
inclination,  to  give  up  both  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  church, 
the  task  of  laboring  to  revive  in  these  parts  the  spirit  of  the  Cath- 
olic religion,  even  as  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, must  have  been  of  no  avail  unless  aided  by  supernatural 
power. 

That  that  power  was  present  aiding  the  priests  of  the  Catholic 
church  is  evidenced  by  the  church's  triumph  and  by  the  promise: 
"  Behold  I  am  with  you  all  days  even  to  the  consummation  of  the 
world."  It  is  also  manifest  from  the  fact  that  while  there  yet 
obtains  among  non-Catholics  a  degree  of  ignorance  and  prejudice, 
there  is  nevertheless  a  modicum  of  enlightenment  which  begets 
inquiry.  And  when  this  stage  is  reached  the  teachers  of  the 
ancient  faith  know  that  fact  and  reason,  aided  by  grace,  will  give 
them  the  victory.  "Seek  and  you  shall  find,"  to  their  minds,  is 
still  a  truth  being  realized  every  day. 


(41) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARLY    PASTORS PAPAL    BULL    CREATING    DIOCESE  OF    VINCENNES 

CONSECRATION      AND     INSTALLATION     OF      BISHOP       BRUTE HIS 

FIRST    PASTORAL    LETTER. 

POST  or  Fort  Vincennes,  or,  as  we  now  know  it,  the  city  of 
Vincennes,  Ind.,  from  which  the  diocese  of  Vincennes  was 
given  its  name,  was  itself  so-styled,  according  to  Dr.  R.  H.  Clarke, 
"from  a  gallant  French  officer  who  was  murdered  there  in  1736, 
in  the  same  massacre,  side  by  side,  with  the  martyred  Father 
Senat." 

The  post,  or  fort,  was  built  in  1702,  and  a  Jesuit  priest,  who 
accompanied  the  French  soldiers,  who  formed  the  expedition  to 
that  point,  offered  up  the  first  mass  that  was  celebrated  on  the 
Wabash  river,  or,  perhaps,  in  Indiana.  At  least  it  was  the  first 
mass  of  which  there  is  any  evidence  remaining,  although  itinerant 
priests  are  said  to  have  performed  their  sacred  functions  at  or  near 
the  place  now  called  Vincennes  as  early  as  the  year  1660.  and  at 
what  is  now  Fort  Wayne,  Ind..  in  the  year  1676,  or  four  years 
before  La  Salle  came. 

The  territory,  which  subsequently  comprised  the  Vincennes 
diocese,  was  then  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop  of  Quebec, 
Canada,  who  in  1770  he  sent  his  newly-appointed  vicar-general,  in 
the  person  of  Father  Gibault,  to  visit  the  Illinois  territory,  and 
Vincennes,  particularly,  and  look  after  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
French  and  Indian  Catholics  of  that  section.  Father  Gibault 
continued  his  occasional  visits  for  several  years,  zealously  exerting 
himself  to  keep  alive  the  faith  of  the  people. 

In  1778,  at  a  critical  period  in  the  history  of  the  country,  he 
made  one  of  his  periodical  visits,  and  remained  two  weeks,  during 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

which  time  he,  having  previously  consulted  with  Gen.  George 
Rogers  Clark,  induced  the  Catholics,  who  constituted  almost  the 
whole  population,  to  declare  in  favor  of  the  United  States,  as 
against  England.  la  fact,  he  himself  administered  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  them  in  the  rude,  unfinished  church  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier,  which  subsequently  became  the  cathedral  church  of  the 
diocese."  In  1785  he  became  the  resident  pastor,  but  was  recalled 
three  years  after,  leaving  the  church  to  be  guarded  by  a  Mr.  Mallet, 
who  continued  to  care  for  the  property  until  the  arrival,  in  1792, 
of  Father  Flaget  with  authority,  not  from  the  bishop  of  Quebec, 
but  from  Bishop  Carroll,  of  Baltimore,  who  had  been  appointed 
bishop  in    1  790. 

"THE    PATRIOT    PRIEST    OF    THE    WEST." 

Here  it  is  proper  to  speak  of  Very  Rev.  Father  Gibault,  for 
of  all  the  men  who,  in  early  days  in  Indiana,  made  history  in  the 
performance  of  duty,  surely  he  was  the  most  prominent. 

His  character  was  such  that,  notwithstanding  his  name  and 
that  of  his  mother,  Mary  St.  Jean,  he  was  always  regarded  even 
by  the  English  as  an  Irishman  by  descent.  He  was  generous, 
impulsive,  devoted  to  duty  and  to  friends,  and  was  brave  in  a  higher 
sense  than  the  mere  physical. 

He  was  born  at  Montreal,  Canada,  April  7,  1737;  was  ordained 
priest  at  Quebec,  March  19,  1768,  and  died  early  in  1804,  after 
devoting  thirty-six  years  of  his  life  to  the  church  and  to  humanity 
and  liberty.  Some  say  he  died  at  New  Madrid,  while  others  say 
he  died  in  Canada  and  that  his  burial  place  is  known  there.  He 
was  too  much  of  an  American  to  die  in  Canada. 

After  ordination  he  at  once  entered  upon  his  missionary  labors, 
having  been  sent  by  Bishop  Briand,  of  Quebec,  with  powers  as  his 
vicar-general,  to  bestir  the  faith  of  the  French  and  Indian  Catho-   ^ 
lies  in  the  Northwest  Territory  and  to  regulate  the  temporalities  of 
the  various  mission  stations. 

The  church  records  at  Quebec  show  letters  from  Father 
Gibault  to  Bishop  Briand,  evidencing  that  his   first   mission,   1768, 


*  Indiana  thereby  became  subject  to  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia,  which 
publicly  thanked  Fra.  Gibault. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

was  at  Michilimachinac,  now  in  the  state  of  Michigan;  his  second, 
also  1768,  was  Kaskaskia,  now  in  the  state  of  lUinois,  and  his 
third  was  Vincennes,  Indiana,  which  place  he  visited  in  1770.  His 
authority  extended  from  Mackinac  in  the  north,  to  the  Ohio  river 
in  the  south,  and  west  to  the  Mississippi  and  beyond.  During  six 
years  of  hard  work  he  visited  all  the  missions,  and  in  1775  returned 
to  Canada  for  a  short  rest. 

This  rest  was  indeed  short,  for,  in  1776,  we  find  him  back 
agam  at  his  labors,  beginning  at  Mackinac,  passing  on  to  Detroit 
and  reaching  Kaskaskia  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  where  he  contin- 
ued to  have  his  headquarters. 

In  this  connection  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  follow  him  in 
detail  on  the  mission  in  his  very  large  parish  of  thousands  of  miles 
in  extent.  What  we  deem  happiest  to  mention  here  is  the  great 
fact  that,  were  it  not  for  Father  Gibault,  the  states  of  Indiana, 
Ohio,  Michigan,  lUinois,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota— all  carved  out 
of  the  Northwest  Territory — might  not  to-day  be  smiling  beneath 
the  folds  of  the  starry  banner. 

It  was  Father  Gibault  who,  in  1778,  enthused  the  people  of 
Vincennes  and  actually  administered  to  them  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  government  of  the  United  States.  This  was  the  year  before 
Gen.  Clark  captured  the  post  from  Gov.  Hamilton,  in  1779. 
Clark's  bloodless  capture  of  Kaskaskia  was  also  arranged  for  by 
Father  Gibault  in  1778,  and  he  even  went  farther  in  aid  of  the 
American  cause,  for  he  furnished  two  companies  of  the  Catholic 
men  of  his  parish,  under  the  commands  of  Capts.  McCay  and 
Charleville,  to  aid  Gen.  Clark  in  the  capture  of  Vincennes.  In  fact. 
Father  Gibault  had  paved  the  way  for  the  Americans  by  explain- 
ing to  the  people  of  his  missions  the  issues  which  caused  the  war 
between  England  and  the  Americans,  and  he  further  seasoned  his 
explanations  by  telling  his  Catholic  adherents  the  story  of  British 
penal  laws  and  persecutions  looking  to  the  extirpation  of  the 
Catholic  religion. 

The  details  of  the  relations  existing  between  Father  Gibault 
and  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia  through  Gen.  Clark  may  never 
be  known  in  their  completeness,  but  enough  is  known  to  evidence 
the  fact  that  before  Gen.  Clark  appeared  upon  the  scene  the  peo- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


pie  of  Vincennes  and  Kaskaskia  were  won  over  to  the  American' 
cause.  Were  these  people  not  thus  intluenced  by  "the  patriot 
priest  of  the  west,"  the  small  army  commanded  by  Gen.  Clark 
would  have  been  annihilated  by  the  British  garrisons  at  these  places, 
aided  by  the  people.  Such  a  fate  overtaking  Gen.  Clark,  what 
would  have  been  the  future  of  the  territory  and  the  people.?  Who 
is  able  to  paint  the  picture,  had  Gibault  been  an  Arnold!  And  yet 
there  are  rich  men  in  the  city  of  New  York  who,  a  few  years  ago, 
proposed  to  erect  a  monument  to  Arnold,  the  traitor,  in  Central 
park,  and  there  are  indifferent  or  prejudiced  men— some  of  them 
rich— in  Indiana,  who  up  to  this  writing,  1898,  and  ninety-four 
years  since  his  death,  are  not  making  a  move  to  do  honor  to  the 
memory  of  the  "  patriot  priest  of  the  west." 

The  genius  of  Catholicity  and  democracy  in  government  fused 
so  completely  in  the  soul  of  Father  Gibault  that  with  all  his 
strength  he  lent  himself  to  the  American  cause.  He  hoped  for 
much  for  from  government  in  America;  his  labors  in  behalf  of  such 
a  government  were  in  keeping  with  the  intensity  of  his  hopes  and 
de'Iires.      The  truth  is,  he  spent  himself  for  religion  and  liberty. 

And  yet  under  the  guise  of  the  opposition  of  Bishop  Carroll,  of 
Baltimore,  to  granting  title  to  church  property  to  any  individual 
priest,  Father  Gibault's  request  to  Gov.  St.  Clair  to  grant  him  five 
acres  of  land  near  Cahokia  to  be  a  home  for  him  in  his  old  age,  was 
denied.  So  that,  after  sacrificing  his  property  and  himself,  and 
influencing  his  people  in  favor  of  the  American  cause  as  against 
that  of  the  British,  he  was  left  unrewarded  and  died  in  poverty  and 

privation. 

The  late  Hon.  William  H.  English,  of  Indianapolis,  in  his  his- 
tory, "Conquest  of  the  Northwest  Territory,"  says: 

There  was  no  reason,  however,  why  his  (Father  Gibault's)  great  services 
should  not  have  been  properly  recognized,  )3ut  they  never  were.  As  far  as  the 
author  is  advised,  no  county,  town  or  post-office  bears  his  name;  no  monument  has 
been  erected  to  his  memory  and  no  head-stone  marks  his  grave,  as  its  location  is 

entirely  unknown. 

It  was  well  for  him  that  he  could  turn  to  the  religion  of  which  he  had  been  so 
faithful  a  servant  and  find  consolation  in  the  trust  that  there  was  a  heaven  where 
meritorious  deeds  such  as  his  find  reward,  since  they  were  so  poorly  appreciated 
and  requited  on  earth. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Let  us  now  look  farther  into  the  part  he  took  in  the  events  which  resulted  in 
the  acquisition  of  "the  territory  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio." 

During  the  long  period  between  Father  Gibault's  arrival  in  the  Illinois  coun- 
try and  the  capture  of  Kaskaskia  he  was  a  leading  character  in  everything  pertain- 
ing to  the  spiritual, 'social,  educational  and  material  prosperity  of  the  ancient 
French  villages.  The  good  priest  and  those  unsophisticated,  humble,  but  honest 
and  loving  people,  were  bound  together  by  the  closest  and  tenderest  ties;  and  it  is 
not  at  all  surprising  that  he  had  great  influence  with  them. 

Father  Flaget  became  the  first  bishop  of  Kentucky  in  1811, 
when  that  state,  as  at  present  bounded,  had  a  CathoHc  population 
of  about  6,000.  In  fact,  it  was  from  Kentucky,  whose  Indian 
name  means  "Dark  and  Bloody  Ground,"  that  Indiana  received 
not  a  few  of  its  subsequent  Catholic  population. 

If  this  Indian  name,  Kentucky,  suggests  to  the  mind  a  forbid- 
ding picture,  surely  the  vast  expanse  of  country  stretching  thou- 
sands of  miles  in  every  direction  presented  a  very  inviting  one  to 
the  civilized  eye  of  the  missionary.  The  unbroken  forests,  the 
coursing  streams — nature  undisturbed  everywhere  united  to  woo 
him  of  the  pent-up  class-room,  the  narrow  street  and  the  restraints 
of  monastic  life.  So  that  we,  a  hundred  years  later,  can  draw  a 
mental  picture  of  that  day  and  country,  showing  not  only  these 
things,  but  also  roving  bands  of  savages  sought  out  by  the  lonely 
and  laborious  missionary,  whose  consuming  zeal  for  God's  honor 
and  the  salvation  of  souls  spread  around  him  a  halo  which  com- 
manded the  admiration  and  reverence  of  the  savage.  It  is 
said  that  the  Christian  engaged  in  prayer  presents  one  of  the  most 
sublime  pictures;  but  since  there  be  prayers  and  prayers,  the  life 
of  the  faithful  missionary  is  a  continuous  prayer,  presenting  a  pic- 
ture the  beauties  of  which  require  a  special  grace  to  fully  compre- 
hend and  enjoy. 

Many  priests  labored  in  the  wilds  of  what  are  now  the  states 
of  Indiana  and  Illinois  from  the  year  1702,  the  year  of  the  building 
of  Fort  Vincennes,  Fort  St.  Mary  (now  Fort  Wayne)  and  Fort 
"Ountanon."  The  names  of  not  all  of  these  priests  are  obtaina- 
ble, not  even  of  all  who  served  as  pastors,  temporary  or  otherwise, 
of  St.  Francis  Xavier's  church,  at  Vincennes.  It  is  said,  however, 
that  while  the  name  of  the  first  pastor — the  Jesuit  who  accom- 
panied the  French  expedition  for  fort-building — is   unknown,   that 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

■of  his  successor  was  Father  Mermet,  who  was  at  \'incennes  in 
1707.  The  third  was  Father  Senat,  who  was  murdered,  burned 
at  the  stake,  by  the  Indians  in  1736;  and  the  fourth  was  Father 
Conic,  who,  according  to  Bishop  Brute,  was  pastor  at  Vincennes 
in  1748,  there  being  no  evidence  going  to  show  how  long  before  or 
since  that  year  his  ministrations  continued. 

There  are  two  leading  events  connected  with,  and  essential 
to,  the  history  of  the  Catholic  church  in  the  state  of  Indiana: 
The  one  is  the  first  ministrations  of  priests  of  the  church  in  these 
parts,  and  the  other  is  the  establishment  of  the  diocese  of  \'in- 
cennes. 

Touching  the  first,  we  have  a  special  Indian  tradition  going  to 
show,  as  above  stated,  that  ' '  the  first  white  man  who  visited  the  ter- 
ritory, now  Indiana,  was  a  French  Jesuit  missionary,  who  came  from 
the  old  French  mission  of  St.  Joseph,  of  Lake  Michigan,  which 
was  one  of  the  oldest  Jesuit  missions  in  the  lake  region.  This  mis- 
sionary came  among  the  Miamis  (Fort  Wayne)  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  probably  in  1675.""  Another  tradition, 
less  probable  and  unsupported  by  anything  like  general  use  by 
careful  writers,  is,  that  as  early  as  1660  Jesuit  missionaries  had 
visited  in  the  vicinity  of  Vincennes,  and  presumably  saw  the  site 
of  the  old  fort  itself  while  engaged  in  their  calling  of  teaching  the 
Indians  Christianity. 

Tradition  ceases  and  history  proper  begins  for  the  church  in 
Indiana  with  the  following  entry  upon  the  records  found  at  Vin- 
cennes, as  copied  by  both  Father  Alerding  and  others: 

June  25,  1749.  I  baptized  John  Baptist,  son  of  Peter  Siapiachagane  and  of 
Catherine  Mskieve;  Francis  Filatraux  was  god-father  and  Mary  Mikitchenseive> 
god-mother.— Sebast.  Lud.  Meurin. 

From  that  date  until  1836  there  were  about  thirty  prominent 
among  the  itinerant  missionaries  and  pastors  who  ministered  to 
the  faithful  at  Vincennes  and  vicinity.  Henry  S.  Cauthorn,  in 
his  elaborate  history  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  Cathedral,  gives  lengthy 
sketches  of  most  of  these  priests,  together  with  the  dates  of  their 
arrival  and  departure. 


*History  of  Indiana,  by  Goodrich  and  Tuttle. 

~147] 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Thus  we  find  that  Rev.  Louis  Vivier  arrived  at  Vincennes  in 
1753  and  left  there  in  1756;  Rev.  Julien  Devernai,  1756-1763; 
Rev.  Father  Gibault,  1 770-1 789.  It  was  onl}'  during  the  last 
four  of  these  years  that  Father  Gibault  was  resident  pastor  of 
Vincennes,  for  in  1784  Rev.  Louis  Paget  is  recorded  as  having 
ministered  there,  as  did  others  also  between  1770  and  1789.  Rev. 
Joseph  Flaget  came  in  1792  and  left  in  1795. 

Rev.  Francis  Rivet  came  the  same  year,  1795,  and  remained 
until  1804.  He  was  the  first  priest  to  draw  a  revenue  from  the 
government;  for  congress,  on  the  recommendation  of  President 
Washington,  who  was  besought  in  the  matter  by  Bishop  Carroll, 
of  Baltimore,  had  appropriated  a  $200  annuity  for  the  support  of 
the  Catholic  priests  at  Vincennes. 

Rev.  D.  Olivier  made  occasional  visits  from  1804  to  18 14. 
The  other  missionaries  halting  at  Vincennes  during  these  years 
were  Rev.  Urbain  Guillet,  a  Trappist  monk,  1808,  Rev.  Charles 
Nerinckx  and  Rev.  Steven  T.  Badin.  Rev.  Guy  J.  Chabrat 
attended  Vincennes  from  181  5  to  1817,  with  intermissions,  during 
which  Fathers  Badin,  Richards-  and  Rosati  officiated.  Father 
Blanc,  1818-1820;  Father  Champomier,  1823-1831 ;  Father  Picot, 
1831-1833;  Father  Lalumiere,  1833-1836,  and  Father  Petit  also 
in  1833. 

Among  the  missions  established  by  the  black-robed  Jesuit 
priests  among  the  Indians  along  the  rivers  of  Indiana,  and  to 
which  enough  importance  has  been  attached  to  have  them  men- 
tioned by  some  writers,  one  has  been  overlooked,  but  about  whose 
existence  prior  to  1795  there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt.  It  was 
located  on  the  White  river,  at  the  juncture  of  Marion  county  with 
Morgan  and  Johnson  counties.  In  fact,  it  was  in  Decatur  town- 
ship, Marion  county.  Mr.  John  Dollarhide,  the  father  of  C.  T. 
Dollarhide,  of  the  Bowen-Merrill  company,  of  Indianapolis,  heard 
of  the  mission  after  he  left  his  home  in  Randolph  county,  N.  C. ; 
and  when  he  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mission,  in  1820,  he 
verified  nearly  all  that  had  been  told  him  concerning  it — not  only 
that  there  had  been  a  clearing  made  there  twenty-five  years  before, 

*  Rev.  Father  Richards  was  elected  delegate  to  congress  from  the  territory  of 
Michigan  in  1823.     He  served  his  term. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

as  he  judged  from  the  growth  of  young  trees  and  underbrush, 
but  also  that  certain  articles  belonging  to  the  Indians  had  been 
unearthed,  together  with  human  bones  from  what  must  have  been 
the  mission  cemetery. 

Judge  Franklin  Harding,  of  Johnson   county,  Ind.,  who  died  . 
a  few  years  ago.  said  that   Maj.  Harding,  of   Kentucky,  a  relative 
of  his,    told    him  that  the    mission   was   destroyed  by  a   band   of 
men  from  his  state  in    1/95-  and  that  no  quarter  was  given  the 
Indians. 

Dr.  Ryland  T.  l-3rown,  in  one  of  the  Indiana  geological 
reports,  refers  to  the  positive  existence  of  the  mission,  but  says 
that  it  was  not  destroyed  until  1808.  and  then  not  by  Kentuckians 
but  by  a  company  of  men  from  Madison,  Ind. 

William  Landers,  the  father  of  Hon.  Franklin  Landers,  of 
Indianapolis,  declared  before  he  died  that  he  had  met  and  knew, 
before  1820.  an  Indian  who  was  educated  in  the  rudiments  of 
Christianity  and  civilization  at  the  mission  referred  to,  and  which 
he  said  was  conducted  by  Jesuit  priests. 

About  six  years  ago,  1892,  there  were  printed  in  the  Indianap- 
olis News  many  facts  according  with  the  above,  from  the  pen  of 
Judge  Banta,  of  Franklin.  Ind. 

In  1833  the  needs  of  the  Catholic  communities  lying  north  of 
the  Ohio  river  were  represented  to  Pope  Gregory  XVI.  who.  on  May 
6th  of  the  following  year,  erected  the  diocese  of  Vincennes.  Vin- 
cennes  was  the  thirteenth  diocese  established  in  the  United  States, 
that  of  Baltimore,  1789.  being  the  first;  the  others  were  as  follows: 
New  Orleans,  1794;  New  York,  1808;  Boston,  1808;  Philadelphia 
1808;  Bardstown,  1808;  Charleston,  1820;  Richmond,  1821;  Cin- 
cinnati,  1821;  Mobile.  1824;  St.  Louis,   1826;  Detroit,   1832. 

The  Papal  bull  creating  the  diocese  of  Vincennes  is  said  to  be 
a  choice  piece  of  church  Latinity,  following  no  previous  rule  as  to 
matter  or  form,  going  straight  to  the  point  aimed  at;  overflowing 
with  a  spirit  of  zeal,  and  while  simple  is  yet  quite  brilliant,  with  a 
finish  as  elegant  as  that  of  some  of  the  masters.  Bishop  Brute, 
the  first  bishop  of  the  diocese  which  this  bull  created,  and  who 
was  himself  a  finished  scholar,  thus  renders  the  Latin  into  very 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

good  English.      We  present  his  translation  of  that  important  docu- 
ment as  follows: 

PAPAL    BULL  CREATING  THE    DIOCESE   OF    VIXCENNES. 

Gregory  XVI,  Sovereign  Pontiff.  For  a  perpetual  memorial.  Among  the 
very  great  and  weighty  cares  and  anxieties  which  continually  burden  and  harass 
us  in  the  government  and  administration  of  the  Universal  church  entrusted  to  us- 
by  Divine  Providence,  the  most  urgent  assuredly  is  that  which  regards  the  state  of 
all  the  dioceses  throughout  the  entire  world:  for  in  us  it  belongs,  in  virtue  of  our 
supreme  power  and  judgment,  to  establish  them,  to  determine  and  change  their 
limits,  as  times  and  circumstances,  and  especially  the  spiritual  good  and  advan- 
tage of  the  faithful,  appear  to  require  it.  Since,  therefore,  by  the  united  suffrages 
of  our  venerable  brothers,  the  bishops  of  North  America,  it  has  seemed  very  fitting,, 
in  order  to  extend  and  strengthen  the  Catholic  religion  in  the  province  or  state  of 
Indiana,  to  erect  and  establish,  with  certain  fixed  limits,  a  new  diocese,  whose  see 
shall  be  at  the  city  of  Vincennes,  we  have  referred  for  examination,  a  subject  of 
so  much  importance  to  the  congregation  of  our  venerable  brothers,  the  cardinals 
of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  who  are  placed  over  the  concerns  of  the  Propaganda. 
Having  therefore  weighed  all  things  maturely,  and  considered  particularly  the- 
spiritual  good  which  would  accrue  to  the  people  of  those  countries,  by  the  advice 
and  counsel  of  the  same,  our  venerable  brothers,  we  are  assured  that  the  establish- 
ment of  this  new  diocese  and  episcopal  see  would  be  very  useful. 

Of  our  own  will,  therefore,  and  of  our  certain  knowledge,  and  in  the  plenti- 
tude  of  our  apostolic  power,  we,  by  these  letters,  do  erect  and  establish  in  the 
province  or  state  of  Indiana,  in  North  America,  a  new  diocese,  of  which  the  see 
shall  be  the  city  of  Vincennes,  from  which  city  the  diocese  shall  receive  its  title.- 
The  extent  of  the  diocese  shall  be  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  one  part  of  Illinois, 
the  other  part  to  be  attached  to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  so  that  the  limits  of  each, 
diocese  in  the  state  of  Illinois  be  determined  in  the  following  manner:  Beginning, 
from  the  river  Ohio,  which  separates  Kentucky  from  Illinois  on  the  south,  directly- 
from  Fort  Massac,  let  a  right  line  be  drawn  through  the  eastern  boundaries  of  the 
counties  of  Johnson,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  Marion,  Fayette,  Shelby  and  Macon,  to 
the  Grand  Rapids  of  the  Illinois  river,  which  are  eight  miles  above  the  town  o£ 
Ottawa,  in  the  county  of  Lasselle,  and  hence  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  state,. 
so  that  the  western  part  of  the  state  of  Illinois  belong  to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,, 
and  the  eatsern  part  to  the  diocese   of  Vincennes. 

We  therefore  ordam  that  these'  letters  are  and  shall  be  inviolate,  valid  and 
efficacious;  that  they  have  and  retam  their  full  power  and  entire  force,  and  that 
each  and  every  article  specified  by  us,  be  strictly  fulfilled,  and  thus,  as  aforesaid,, 
be  without  authority  judged  and  defined,  by  all  ordinary  judges  whatsoever,  and 
even  delegated  auditors  of  causes,  the  apostolical  palace  and  the  cardinals  of  the 
Holy  Roman  church  withholding  from  each  and  all  of  them  any  right  to  assign  a 
different  judgment  or  interpretation;  and  that  if  any  such  be  attem[ited  knowingly, 
or  through  ignorance,  by  anyone,  whatever  may  be  his  authority,  the  same  shall  be 
null  and  void,  apostolic  constitutions  and  ordinances  and  all  other  things  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Given  at  RoiiR',  al  Si.  I'ctfi's,  under  tin;  linii  of  the   P^isherman,  the  Gth  day- 
of  May  1834,  and  in  tlje  fourth  year  of  our  Pontificate.     For  Cardinal  Albana. 

A.  PICCHIONI. 

THE    FIKST    15ISII01'  OF      VIXCENNES HIS    FIRST     PASTORAL     LETTER. 

The  diocese  of  Vincennes  having  been  created,  the  next  thintr 
be  done  was  to  supply  it  with  a  bishop.  Who  was  to  become 
that  dignitary.''  Teaching  moral,  theological  and  classical  learning 
in  Mount  St.  Mary's  seminary,  Maryland,  was  Rev.  Simon  Will- 
iam Gabriel  Brute  de  Remur.  He  was  chosen  for  the  position, 
and  was  consecrated  at  St.  Louis,  October  28,  1834,  by  Bishop 
Flaget,  assisted  by  Bishops  Rosati  and  Purcell.  The  zeal  of  the 
newly-made  bishop  caused  him,  the  day  after  his  consecration,  to 
address  his  first  pastoral  letter  to  his  scattered  flock  in  the  wilds 
of  Indiana  and  Illinois.  It  is  as  follows  and  is  an  index  to  the 
saintly  character  of  Bishop  Brute: 

Simon,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the  appointment  of  the  holy  see,  bishop  of 
Vincennes,  to  the  faithful  of  our  diocese.  Grace  be  unto  you  from  God  the 
Father  and  the  peace  of  our  Lord,  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ. 

Beloved  brethren.  Divine  Providence  sends  me  amon.i,^  you  as  the  first 
bishop  of  the  newly-erected  diocese  of  Vincennes.  Through  the  unanimous  call 
of  the  bishops  assembled  in  council  in  Baltimore  last  year,  and  the  appointment 
of  the  common  father  of  the  faithful,  Gregory  XVI,  the  vicar  of  our  Lord  and 
Savior  Jesus  Christ  on  earth,  as  expressed  in  his  bull  of  May  last,  unworthy  as  I 
am  of  so  great  an  honor,  and  of  myself  unequal  of  the  charge,  my  only  trust  is  in 
God;  and,  therefore,  earnestly  calling  for  your  prayers,  that  1  may  obtain  His 
Divine  assistance,  I  come  to  be  your  chief  pastor.  .  I  come  to  be  a  first  link  in  the 
succession  of  those  who,  for  ages  to  come,  we  do  so  trust  in  God,  are  destined  to 
attend  their  co-operators  in  a  divinely  instituted  ministry  to  your  spiritual  wants 
and  those  of  your  future  progeny. 

When  you  are  thus  entrusted  to  our  care  by  the  great  Shepherd  of  our 
souls,  the  warning  of  the  Apostle  of  the  nations,  to  us  and  to  our  successors  in  the 
same  charge,  in  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  church,  is  to  be  received  with  the 
sacred  mixture  of  fear  and  confidence  that  it  necessarily  creates.  "Take  heed  to 
yourselves  and  to  all  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  placed  you  bishops 
to  rule  the  church  of  God  which  he  hath  purchased  with  His  own  blood." 

Saying  "  yourselves  are  all  the  flock,"  the  divine  word,  my  brethren,  forcibly 
marks  that  the  interest  and  duty,  both  of  the  pastors  and  flock  are  the  same:  To- 
live  in  the  same  obedience  and  fidelity  to  their  Lord  and  his  church,  having  made 
it  an  inseparable  allegiance;  to  embrace  his  law,  receive  his  grace  and  save  together 
their  souls  for  the  life  to  come.  For,  my  brethren,  every  day  spent  on  this  earth 
makes  us  draw  nearer  and  nearer  to  eternity  and  that  judgment  of  (iod  that  awaits 
every  one  of  us.     Amidst  all  the  anxieties  and  distractions  of  the  present  life,  a 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

last  day  is  approaching.  Death  will  soon  bid  us  go  and  leave  all  the  occupations, 
pains  and  pleasures  of  this  world,  to  be  shared  by  other  passengers,  like  ourselves, 
passengers  of  a  day.  Death  will  soon  call  us  to  "  stand  at  the  tribunal  of  Christ  " 
to  receive  from  him  the  sentence  of  condemnation,  happiness  or  misery  through 
that  immense  eternity. 

Yes,  beloved  brethren,  let  one  common  interest  and  purpose  cement  our 
union  in  Christ;  to  save  together  our  souls.  To  reach  heaven  and  avoid  hell  is  our 
common  aim,  to  live  a  good  life  and  do  penance  (for  who  needs  not  penance?)  our 
common  duty.  Giving  glory  to  God  and  cherishing  peace  with  all  is  our  consola- 
tion on  earth;  "  faith,  hope  and  charity,  these  three  things,"  must  prove  our  whole 
treasure,  as  they  are  the  only  certain  pledge  of  real  and  lasting  happiness. 

Such,  my  brethren,  is  the  whole  object  and  seal  of  our  union  in  Jesus  Christ. 
He  came  to  save  us  on  the  cross;  we  will  trust  and  serve  him  as  our  Lord  and 
Savior.  He  taught  first  his  divine  doctrine,  then  instituted  his  church  to  preserve 
it  unchangeable  to  the  end  of  time.  We  will,  the  pastor  and  flock,  with  one  heart, 
follow  his  doctrine,  obey  his  only  true  church,  the  sacraments  of  his  grace,  and, 
above  all,  the  Eucharistic  sacrifice;  we  will  ever  consider  it  as  the  richest  legacy 
of  his  love,  established  by  him  for  our  blessing;  therefore,  neither  to  be  neglected 
nor  abused.  Our  baptism  we  will  faithfully  remember;  in  penance,  through  sincere 
confession  and  contrition,  we  seek  the  remedy  of  our  sins;  in  communion,  the  sup- 
port and  joy  of  our  souls. 

Your  bishop,  beloved  brethren,  entering  thus  on  his  duty,  begs  humbly  and 
earnestly  your  prayers,  and  entreats  also  fervently  the  God  of  Mercy  to  bless  you; 
to  fill  you  with  that  spirit  of  peace,  charity  and  piety  which  has  the  best  promises, 
both  of  the  present  time  and  of  the  life  to  come.  Jesus  Christ  said:  "  I  am  the 
way,  the  truth  and  the  life."  IMayhe  ever  find  the  pastor  and  the  flock  his  faithful 
followers  and  receive  them  together  in  the  kingdom  of  his  glory;  may  he  give  rest 
to  those  who  have  gone  before  us,  your  departed  friends,  for  whom  we  shall  hence- 
forth unite  our  prayers  to  yours,  especially  at  the  divine  sacrifice. 

With  you,  we  shall  honor  the  saints  who  reign  triumphantly  in  heaven,  call 
for  their  protection  and  that  of  the  angels,  to  whom,  says  the  divine  word,  our  Lord 
"  hath  given  charge  over  us,  to  keep  us  in  all  our  ways."  We  place  our  cathedral 
under  the  special  protection  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  the  whole  diocese  under  that  of 
the  glorious  mother  of  God,  the  Blessed  \"irgin  Mary,  toward  whom  it  was,  m  all 
ages,  the  spirit  of  the  church  that  all  Christians  should  entertain  the  most  tender 
devotion. 

Beloved  brethren,  "we  are  the  children  of  the  saints,"  as  we  pass  on  earth 
to  go  and  meet  them  in  heaven.  Permit  me,  then,  to  conclude  with  these  few 
words  more  of  the  divine  scriptures:  "The  grace  of  God  and  Savior  hath  appeared 
to  all  men,  instructing  us  that,  renouncing  iniquity  and  worldly  desires,  we  should 
live  soberly  and  justly  and  piously  in  this  world,  waiting  for  the  blessed  hope  and 
the  coming  of  the  glory  of  the  great  God  and  our  savior  Jesus  Christ  *  *  *  a 
people  acceptable,  pursuing  good  works  *  *  *  he  who  shall  persevere  to  the 
end  shall  be  saved    *     ■*    *     the  grace  and  peace  of  our  Lord  be  with  you." 

Given  at  St.  Louis  the  day  after  our  consecration,  29th,  8th  month,  1834. 

t  Si.MON,  Bishop  of  \incennes. 


(52) 


RT.  REV.  SIMON   WILLIAM   GABRIEL   BRUTE, 
FIRST  BISHOP  OF  VINCENNES. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

As  if  impatient  to  begin  his  labors  in  his  new  diocese,  Bishop 
Brute,  in  company  with  Bishops  Fhiget  and  Purcell,  left  St.  Louis 
the  following  Monday  after  his  consecration,  November  3,  and 
journeyed  on  horseback  to  his  future  home,  arriving  at  Vincennes 
November  5,  1834.  Mr.  Cauthorn,  in  his  history  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier's  cathedral,  says  that  the  coming  of  their  new  bishop  had 
become  known  to  many  of  the  citizens  of  Vincennes,  and  a  large 
number  of  people  of  all  denominations  crossed  the  Wabash  river  to 
meet  the  approaching  prelates  and  escort  them  into  the  town.  The 
installation  of  the  new  bishop  took  place  in  the  cathedral  that 
evening,  and  the  sermon  was  preached  by  Bishop  Purcell  to  a  con- 
gregation which  completely  filled  the  sacred  edifice. 

The  remainder  of  the  week,  continues  Mr.  Cauthorn,  was 
devoted  to  religious  exercises  in  the  church.  Many  clergymen  from 
a  distance  were  in  attendance,  including  Fathers  Abel,  Hitzel- 
berger  and  Petit,  who  were  all  able,  learned  and  eloquent  men. 
Two  services  were  held  each  day  in  the  church,  one  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  another  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  at  which 
sermons  were  preached  in  French  and  English.  On  Sunday,  at 
ten  o'clock.  Bishop  Brute  for  the  first  time  officiated  pontifically 
in  his  cathedral,  and  Bishop  Flaget  addressed  a  large  congregation 
in  French.  Vesper  services  were  held  at  6  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  Bishop  Purcell  delivered  a  sermon  in  English.  Almost  the 
entire  population  of  the  town  attended  all  these  services. 

On  the  following  Monday  the  visiting  prelates  and  clergymen 
left  for  their  respective  homes,  and  Bishop  Brute  found  himself 
literally  alone  in  his  wild  and  thinly  settled  diocese.  And  it  was 
from  this  moment  on,  during  the  time  he  was  bishop  of  the  diocese, 
that  he  gave  evidence  of  and  developed,  contrary  to  all  expecta- 
tions based  on  human  reasoning,  the  wisdom  and  peculiar  fitness 
of  his  selection  as  bishop  of  the  new  diocese. 

When  Bishop  Brute  came  to  Vincennes  in  1834,  it  was  a  very 
small  and  poorly  built  town.  The  cathedral  was  situated  in  the 
most  populous  part;  but  there  was  not  (excepting  the  cathedral 
and  the  small  pastoral  residence)  a  single  brick  dwelling  in  all  that 
part  of  the  town.  The  houses  were  mostly  built  of  logs  and  plas- 
tered over  with  adobe,  of  a  uniform  size  and    appearance,  being 

4  

(55) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

only  one  stor}'  high,  with  a  small  porch  in  front,  and  generally- 
whitewashed.  He  had  in  all  his  extensive  diocese  but  three  priests, 
and  two  of  these  were  stationed  at  a  distance  of  not  less  than  200' 
miles  from  him,  and  the  third,  Rev.  Lalumiere,  who  was  the  first 
priest  ordained  specially  for  the  diocese,  was  stationed  some  thirty 
miles  distant.  The  cathedral  was  wholly  unfinished,  being  no 
more  than  the  four  bare  walls,  unplastered,  and  the  eight  large 
square  timbers  supporting  the  roof  were  entirely  bare,  with  no 
sanctuary  or  any  kind  of  ornamentation.  It  presented  a  very  des- 
olate appearance.  The  entire  revenues  of  the  church  did  not 
amount  to  over  $300  per  annum,  and  the  most  of  this  was  paid  in 
produce.  The  $200  donated  him  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  when 
he  was  appointed  bishop,  had  been  necessarily  spent  in  his  trav- 
els before  he  reached  his  diocese;  and  the  revenues  at  his  command 
were  nothing  compared  with  the  needs  and  demands  of  the  diocese. 
The  outlook,  it  must  be  admitted,  was  anything  but  encouraging, 
and  sufficient  to  dampen  the  zeal  of  any  ordinary  man.  But 
Bishop  Brute,  student  and  recluse  as  he  had  previously  been  all  his 
life,  did  not  repine,  but  at  once  commenced  to  perform  the  work 
that  had  been  assigned  him. 

He  first  visited  all  the  Catholic  settlements  within  a  radius  of 
thirtv  miles  of  Vincennes,  to  ascertain  for  himself  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  their  true  condition.  These  visitations  were  often 
made  on  foot.  After  having  thus  made  himself  personally  acquainted 
with  the  status  of  Catholicity  in  the  vicinity  of  Vincennes,  he  deter- 
mined to  make  a  similar  inspection  and  obtain  an  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  all  parts  of  his  vast  diocese.  For  this  purpose  he  deter- 
mined to  visit  one-half  of  it  in  person,  and  delegated  the  Rev. 
Lalumiere  to  visit  the  other  half.  The  eastern  portion  of  it  was 
first  settled,  and  at  the  time  was  provided  with  better  accommoda- 
tions in  the  way  of  roads  and  inns.  The  western  portion  was  still 
almost  an  unbroken  wildneress  with  few  settlements,  and  the.ie 
at  great  distances  apart,  without  any  roads,  inns  or  other  accom- 
modations for  the  comfort  of  travelers. 

It  would  be  according  to  the  natural  course  of  human  action 
that  the  superior  would  take  for  himself  the  lesser  of  the  two  evils, 
and' devolve  upon  the  inferior  the  greater.      But    Bishop  Brute  did 

(56)~ 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

not  thus  act.  He  assigned  the  eastern  portion  of  -the  diocese  to 
Rev.  Lalumiere,  and  determined  to  take  upon  himself  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  wild  and  unsettled  western  part.  Accordingly,  on 
horseback  he  started  from  Vincennes,  and  threaded  his  way 
through  the  wilds  of  Illinois  to  Chicago,  and  thence  around  lake 
Michigan  to  the  various  Indian  missions  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  state,  and  returning  home  along  the  course  of  the  Wabash 
river.  He  was  everywhere  joyously  received  by  the  Catholics  in 
the  few  settlements  he  found  in  his  route,  many  of  whom  were 
Indian  converts.  When  he  returned  to  Vincennes,  after  this  long 
and  laborious  journey  through  a  wilderness  country  entirely  un- 
known to  him  before  this  visit,  he  was  fully  advised  by  a  personal' 
inspection  of  the  present  and  prospective  wants  of  that  portion  of 
the  diocese  he  had  visited.  Rev.  Lalumiere,  having  a  much 
easier  and  pleasanter  task,  had  already  returned  from  his  tour  of 
inspection  before  the  bishop  returned. 

When  he  made  his  report  of  the  information  he  had  obtained 
of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  diocese,  the  bishop  was  fully  acquainted 
with  the  condition  and  prospects  of  his  entire  diocese.  The 
knowledge  thus  obtained  at  once  convinced  him  he  must  procure 
material  aid  from  outside  sources,  to  enable  him  to  successfully 
and  quickly  build  up  the  new  diocese  committed  to  his  care.  For 
this  purpose  he  determined  to  visit  Europe  and  solicit  aid,  that 
being  the  only  quarter  where  he  could  reasonably  hope  to  meet 
with  success.  Accordingly  he  again  visited  his  native  France  on 
this  mission.  He  met  with  a  generous  reception  from  all  classes 
and  succeeded  beyond  his  most  sanguine  expectations  in  procuring 
the  necessary  funds,  and  also  a  number  of  priests  for  his  diocese, 
who  were  needed  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  the  funds  he  had  col 
lecled.  Having  successfully  accomplished  the  object  of  his  visit, 
he  lost  no  time  in  hastening  back  to  his  wild  field  of  labor  with  a 
large  sum  of  money,  which  had  been  cheerfully  and  voluntarily 
given  him. 

After  his  return  to  Vincennes  it  might  have  been  reasonably 
expected  that  his  first  care  in  the  expenditure  of  the  funds-  he  had 
obtained  would  be  the  finishing  and  decorating  of  his  cathedral, 
and  providing  for  his  own  personal  comfort  by  the  erection  of  a  suit- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

able  episcopal  residence.  At  least,  such  would  have  been  the 
course  pursued  by  a  worldly-minded  man.  But  again  Bishop 
Brute,  by  his  course,  was  to  disappoint  the  reasonable  expectations 
of  most  people.  He  postponed  these  matters  for  future  considera- 
tion, and  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  provide  for  the  education 
of  the  children,  and  of  those  who  were  destined  to  enter  the  min- 
istry. For  the  education  of  the  clergy,  he  first  erected  a  two-story 
brick  building  near  the  cathedral.  He  also  began  active  prepara- 
tions to  establish  and  put  in  operation  free  schools  for  both  boys 
and  girls,  without  any  regard  to  religious  belief.  In  a  communica- 
tion published  in  the  Sun,  he  announced  that  the  schools  he  pro- 
posed to  establish  should  be  free  for  all  persons.    -    "    " 

Before  that  time,  educational  matters  in  Vincennes,  as  well  as 
throughout  the  entire  west,  had  been  neglected,  and  the  only 
educational  facihties  available  were  private  schools  conducted  by 
individuals  for  pay,  or  through  private  tutors  specially  employed 
by  such  families  as  were  able  to  do  so.  But  Bishop  Brute  was 
not  discouraged  by  the  doubts  expressed  of  his  success,  but  went 
on  with  his  arrangements  and  succeeded  in  bringing  here  Sisters  of 
•Charity  from  Kentucky  and  inaugurated  his  free-school  system  for 
both  boys  and  girls,  and  also  a  night  school  for  the  convenience  of 
«uch  as  could  not  attend  in  day  time.  He  also  founded  a  college 
for  higher  education.  These  schools  were  all  well  attended  and 
^were  perfectly  free  for  every  one. 

This  was  the  commencement  in  the  state  of  Indiana  of  free- 
school  education,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  was  more 
than  twenty  years  before  the  present  free  school  system  of  the 
rstate  was  authorized  and  organized  under  the  constitution  of  1850. 
In  view  of  these  facts  am  I  not  justified  in  claiming  that,  at  least, 
so  far  as  Indiana  is  concerned.  Bishop  Brute  was  the  originator 
^nd  founder  of  the  free-school  system. 

The  schools  he  thus  established  in  1834  have  been  success- 
fully maintained  and  continued  by  his  various  successors  until  the 
present  time. 

A  diocese  whose  teaching  body  consisted  of  a  bishop  and 
three  priests  with  a  charge  of  not  over  1,500  souls  was  not  a  very 
important  institution.      But   situated  in  the  then  wilds  of  Indiana 

(5bj 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

and  eastern  Illinois,  and  as  far  back  as  the  year  1834,  it  was  of 
consequence  under  the  circumstances,  and  as  history  has  since 
shown  it  to  have  been.  It  has  been  twice  subdivided  since  that 
day  to  make  place  for  the  dioceses  of  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago; 
and  at  the  death  of  Bishop  Brute,  in  1839,  it  had  twenty-four 
priests,  twenty-three  churches,  two  religious  communities,  one 
seminary,  one  college,  one  female  academy  and  two  free  schools. 
The  man  who  first  stood  at  the  helm  of  the  church  in  these 
parts,  who  laid  the  foundations  of  future  dioceses  and  institutions 
of  the  church,  who  set  the  example  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and 
cared  for  his  sheep  both  in  season  and  out  of  season,  was 

RT.    REV.   SIMON    WILLIAM    G.    BRUTE, 

who  was  born  at  Rennes,  in  France,  March  20,  1779;  was  ordained 
priest,  in  France,  in  1808;  landed  in  America,  1810;  was  created 
bishop  in  1834,  and  died  at  Vincennes,  June  26,  1839.  These  are 
the  dates  of  the  chief  events  in  the  life  of  Bishop  Brute,  while  his 
life  of  sixty  years,  devoted  to  religion  and  the  uplifting  of  human- 
ity, is  in  itself  an  epoch.  Passing  over  mere  family  record  and 
the  details  which  others  delight  to  dwell  upon,  we  find  the  head 
and  the  Jieart  of  this  great  and  good  man  far  more  than  we  are 
able  to  do  justice  to. 

Intellectually,  he  had  few  superiors  in  his  day.  This  means 
not  merely  his  power  of  mind  and  thought-range,  but  rather  his 
thorough  and  practical  knowledge  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects — 
theology,  philosophy,  history,  mathematics  and  medicine — not  for- 
getting what  he  himself  was  accustomed  to  call  "  The  Science  of 
the  Saints. "  To  a  naturally  bright  and  inquiring  mind  he  added 
much  by  an  early-acquired  habit  of  study  and  of  attention  to 
detail.  He  had  finely  developed  faculties  for  order,  organization 
and  executiveness,  which,  with  a  reserve  of  ripe  scholarship,  were 
of  incalculable  advantage  to  the  cause  to  which  he  devoted  his  life. 

In  the  moral  order,  he  excelled.  The  grandest  elements  in 
the  saintly  Brute  were  the  moral.  His  piety  and  humility  were 
equaled  only  by  his  charity.  In  him  nearly  all  the  moral  virtues 
appeared  to  have  had  their  proper  abiding  place.  His  very  manner 
breathed  forth  virtue.      Hopeful,   trusting,   patient,    prayerful,    he 

(59) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

denied  himself  to  such  a  degree  that  he  almost  annihilated  self — 
eliminated  it  from  all  he  said  or  did  or  suffered.  The  ideal 
ecclesiastic,  the  typical  bishop,  the  self-sacrificing  follower  of  the 
Master — it  was  fitting  that  such  a  holy  man  should  have  been  the 
first  bishop  of  the  "  diocese  in  the  wilderness." 

He  has  had  able  and  zealous  successors  in  the  see  of  Vin- 
cennes,  but  none  of  them  are  to  be  preferred  before  him  in  the 
things  that  belong  in  the  life  and  work  of  a  bishop  of  the  Holy 
Catholic  church. 

Bishop  Brute  was  buried  beneath  the  altar  of  his  cathedral  at 
Vincennes,  June  28,  1839.  A  large  number  of  ecclesiastics  and  a 
multitude  of  his  fellow-citizens,  who  admired  and  loved  him  in 
life,  were  present  at  the  last  sad  rites  over  him,  now  that  he  had 
"  gone  home."  After  about  five  years  of  episcopal  labors  he  laid 
down  his  burden,  which  was  taken  up  by  his  vicar-general,  Very 
Rev.  Father  Hailandiere,  who  was  consecrated  bishop,  in  the 
the  chapel  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  Paris,  August  18,  1839. 


(60) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ADMINISTRATION  OF  BISHOP  DE  LA  HAILANDIERE,  SECOND  BISHOP  OF 
VINCENNES — THE  FIRST  DIOCESAN  SYNOD — BISHOP's  RESIGNA- 
TION—  HIS    DEATH BISHOP    BAZIN's    SHORT    REIGN. 

THE  diocese  of  Vincennes  had  prospered  under  the  administra- 
tion of  its  first  bishop,  the  saintly  Brute.  It  had  increased 
from  a  very  small  beginning  as  a  diocese  in  1834  to  a  see  of  some 
importance  five  years  later,  when  it  had  twenty-four  priests,  twenty- 
three  churches,  and  institutions  of  learning  growing  in  flattering 
proportion.  In  1837  the  first  directory  of  the  diocese  gave  the 
following  facts  as  to  parishes,  missions  and  priests: 

IN    INDIANA. 

Vincennes,  Cathedral  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  Right  Rev.  Simon  G.  Brute,  D. 
D.,  Rev.  Clestin  de  la  Hailandiere,  Rev.  John  Corbe. 

Black  Oak  Ridge,  Daviess  county,  St.  Peter's,  Rev.  Simon  Lalumiere;  St. 
Mary's,  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais. 

Chicocos,  an  Indian  village  on  the  Tippecanoe,  is  attended  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Deseilles,  of  Michigan. 

Duchee  River,  visited  occasionally. 

Dover,  Dearborn  county,  St.  John's,  every  other  Sunday,  Rev.  Joseph  Fer- 
neding. 

Fort  Wayne,  Allen  county,  St.  Joseph's,  Rev.  Claude  Francois;  St.  Mary's, 
Rev.  Louis  Muller. 

Huntington,  attended  from  Fort  Wayne. 

Logansport,  Cass  county.   Mount    Pleasant,  Madison,  Rev.  Patrick  O'Byrne. 

New  Alsace,  Dearborn  county,  St.  Paul's,  a  large  German  congregation, 
attended  every  other  Sunday  by  Rev.  Joseph  Ferneding. 

New  Albany,  and  the  Knobs,  P'loyd  county,  attended  occasionally  by  Rev. 
Ignatius  Reynolds,  of  Kentucky,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Ferneding. 

Peru,  Miamiport,  Wabashtown,  Salomic,  Gros,  occasionally  visited  by  Rev. 
M.  Ruff. 

Rising  Sun,  Richmond,  Shelbyville,  Columbus,  Indianapolis,  occasionally 
attended. 

(6TT 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

South  Bend,  St.  Joseph  county,  and  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake,  Rev.  S.'T.  Badin,. 
of  Michigan,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Deseilles,  of  Michigan. 

There  are  stations  on  the  Ohio  river,  which  are  visited  by  Rev.  EHsha  Dur- 
bin  and  Rev.  Charles  Coomes,  of  Kentucky. 

Terre  Haute,  Merom.  LaFayette,  Shaker's  Prairie,  occasionally  attended. 

Washington,  Daviess  county.  Rev.  Simon  Lalumiere. 

IX    ILLINIOS. 

Chicago,  Rev.  Irenaeus  St.  Cyr  and  Rev.  Bernard  Schaefer. 
Paris  Prairie,  Edgar  county,  Thraw^l's  Station,  Riviere  au  Chat,  Coffee  Town^ 
Lawrenceville,  visited  from  Vincennes. 

Shawneetown,  Carmi,  Albion,  visited  from  Kentucky,  by  Rev.  Elisha  Durbin. 

Father  Hailandiere,  who  had  accompanied  Bishop  Brute  from 
France,  in  1836,  was  again  in  that  country  in  1839  collecting 
assistance  in  money  for  the  needs  of  the  diocese  and  inducing 
young  ecclesiastics  to  accompany  him  to  the  scene  of  his  labors  in 
Indiana,  when  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Brute  reached 
him  in  Paris.  Having  been  previously  preconized  coadjutor  with 
right  of  succession  to  Bishop  Brute  in  the  diocese  of  Vincennes,  he 
was  thereupon  consecrated  bishop,  as  above  stated,  in  the  chapel 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  Paris  by  Mgr.  De  Forbin  Janson.  who  was 
assisted  in  the  ceremony  by  the  bishops  of  Versailles  and  Beauvais. 

Bishop  Hailandiere  had  done  more  work  while  in  France  than 
the  mere  collection  of  money,  or  the  inducing  of  acceptable  young 
men  to  prepare  to  enter  upon  mission  work  in  the  western  wilder- 
ness. Besides  these  he  had  higher  aims,  for  he  had  an  eye  to 
future  permanent  and  much-needed  educational  institutions,  the 
resolve  to  establish  which  he  held  in  common  with  his  saintly  pred- 
ecessor; to  carry  out  these  ideas  he  devoted  himself  to  securing 
the  co-operation  of  French  educational  religious  orders  in  founding 
colleges  in  his  diocese.  Hence  the  Eudists  undertook  to  found  a 
college  at  Vincennes;  the  society  of  the  Holy  Cross  sent  a  delega- 
tion of  Brothers  with  a  priest  at  their  head  to  found  a  college, 
schools  for  boys,  and  the  congregation  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence 
to  establish  schools  for  the  education  of  girls  in  the  several 
parishes. 

It  can  be  seen  from  this  how  faithful  Bishop  Hailandiere  was 
in  carrying  out  the  intentions  and  desires  of  Bishop  Brute  in  the 
matter   of    education.      To-  these    two    bishops    the    Catholics    of 


RT.  REV.  CELESTINE  RENE  DE  LA  HAILANDIERE, 
SECOND   BISHOP  OF  VINCENNES. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Indiana  owe  the  existence  in  their  midst  not  only  of  fine  parochial 
schools  but  also  of  such  famous  institutions  of  learning  as  St. 
Mary's  acjdemy,  Vigo  county;  St.  Mary's  academy,  St.  Joseph 
county;  and  the  university  of  Notre  Dame.  The  individuals 
accompanying  Bishop  Hailandiere  on  his  return  from  France  to  his 
diocese  in  1839  were  Father  Sorin,  founder  of  the  university  of 
Notre  Dame;  Father  Bellier,  founder  of  St.  Gabriel's  college,  Vin- 
cennes;  Mother  Theodora  Guerin  and  Sister  St.  Francis  Xavier — 
all  of  these  persons  of  worth  and  ability,  as  their  record  shows. 

Having  been  installed  in  his  cathedral  as  bishop  the  Sunday 
after  his  return  from  France,  November  14,  1839,  he  thereupon 
redoubled  his  efforts  to  develop  his  diocese  both  spiritually  and 
materially.  He  expended  the  money  which  he  collected  in  France, 
not  alone  in  finishing  and  beautifying  his  cathedral,  but  also  in 
building  churches,  asylums,  seminaries  and  hospitals  in  various 
parts  of  his  diocese.  He  also  secured  property  for  church  pur- 
poses in  nearly  all  the  populous  and  promising  centers  in  the  state, 
and  was  singularly  happy  in  his  choice  of  locations  for  the  various- 
institutions  which,  since  his  day,  have  grown  to  great  importance 
— notably  the  university  of  Notre  Dame  and  St.  Mary's  of  the 
Woods. 

In  the  early  years  of  his  administration,  as  well  as  later,  either 
consuming  zeal,  or  else  the  lack  of  ability  to  direct  others,  com- 
pelled him  to  be  first  in  every  work  and  to  be  the  active  man  in  its 
direction  and  management.  He  could  find  no  one  to  do  things  as 
he  wished  them  done,  perhaps  because  he  did  not  know  how  to 
give  the  proper  directions,  or  because  to  a  degree  he  lacked  confi- 
dence in  the  ability  of  others  to  do  at  least  some  things  well. 
Because  of  this  he  was  practically  without  assistants,  although 
he  had  good  ones.  He  had  the  machinery,  but  did  not  know 
how  to  employ  it  to  advantage.  Others  could  put  the  wheels 
in  motion,  but  they  were  not  in  authority. 

Bishop  Hailandiere  convoked,  May  5,  1844,  the  first  synod 
held  in  the  diocese,  at  which  twenty-five  priests  were  present,  with 
eleven  absent.  The  object  of  this  meeting  of  the  clergy  was  to 
regulate  discipline  in  accordance  with  instructions  from  Rome, 
touching  missionaries  in  a  missionar}'  country. 

(65) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  priests  who  attended  the  synod  were  Revs.  John  \'abret, 
Stanislaus  Buteux,  John  BelHer  and  John  B.  Chasse,  members  of 
the  Eudist  order,  whom  Bishop  Hailandiere  brought  from  France 
in  1838,  when  he  was  Bishop  Brute's  vicar-general,  to  establish  a 
college  at  Vincennes.  Also  Rev.  Michael  Shawe,  the  eloquent 
Englishman;  and  Rev.  John  Corbe,  who  came  to  the  diocese  in 
1836.  Rev.  Aug.  Bessonies  and  Rev.  John  Timon,  the  latter  of 
"whom  became  bishop  of  Buffalo,  and  the  former  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  bishop  of  the  Papal  household  and  yet  lives  (1898)  at  the  cathe- 
dral, Indianapolis.  Next  were  Rev.  Louis  Neyron,  M.  D.,  who 
served  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Napoleonic  wars,  and  Rev.  Simon  P. 
Lalumiere,  a  native  of  Mncennes  and  the  first  priest  ordained 
specially  for  the  diocese.  Then  there  were  Rev.  Vincent  Bacquelin, 
who  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse  near  Shelbyville,  where  he 
was  on  the  mission,  in  1846;  and  Very  Rev.  Aug.  M.  A.  Martin, 
vicar-general  for  the  diocese,  who  went  to  the  diocese  of  Louisiana 
in  1845.  Also,  Revs.  Julian  Delaune,  who  became  president  of 
St.  Mary's  college,  Kentucky,  in  1846,  and  Pierre  Ducondray,  who 
was  a  near  relative  of  Bishop  Hailandiere.  The  following  ten 
names  make  up  the  twenty-five  who  were  present:  Revs.  Michael 
Clarke,  Michael  O'Rourke,  C.  Opperman,  A.  Parret,  C.  Schnieder- 
Jans,  T.  Mullen,  T.  Courgault.  William  Englen,  A.  Munchina, 
Joseph  Rudolf. 

The  eleven  priests  who  were  absent  were  not  so  from  choice 
or  disinclination  to  attend;  a  retreat  for  the  clergy  having  preceded 
the  synod,  it  was  necessary  that  some  priests  remain  on  duty 
attending  to  the  wants  of  the  people.  Those  thus  employed  were 
the  following:  Revs.  E.  Sorin,  R.  Weinzoepfel,  J.  Benoit, 
M.  de  St.  Palais,  F.  Cointet,  H.  Dupontavice,  F.  Fisher,  J. 
Gueguen,  J.  Kundeck,  T.  Meinkmann  and  T.  Marivault. 

The  priests  who  attended  were  struck  with  the  bishop's  love 
of  order  and  his  desire  that  a  record  of  everything  be  kept.  They 
could  see  this  on  every  hand,  even  in  the  improvements  made  in 
temporal  affairs  in  the  city  of  Vincennes,  which  at  that  time  had 
a  population  of  over  3,000.  To  their  eyes,  accustomed  to  look 
•only  upon  the  forest  and  the  struggling  little  village  of  two  or  three 
log  shanties,  Vincennes  appeared  to  them  a  very  worthy  episcopal 

'(66) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

city,  and  some  of  them  expressed  surprise  that  the  bishop  had  it  in 
mind  to  look  for  another  city  in  which  to  fix  his  .see. 

He  had,  indeed,  already  resolved  upon  the  removal  of  his  see, 
the  necessity  for  which,  and  the  arp^ument,  lay  in  the  fact  that 
prospects  were  not  brig:ht  for  bettering  communication  by  travel 
between  Vincennes  and  the  other  portions  of  the  diocese,  and  also 
on  account  of  the  still  more  formidable  fact  that  the  future,  as  he 
saw  it,  held  nothing  of  promise  in  store  for  the  city  of  Vincennes 
itself.  His  foresight  has  been  signally  verified  and  his  wish  carried 
out"  too,  as  Indianapolis,  with  its  200,000  population,  has  been 
not  only  made  the  episcopal  city  but  also  the  city  whose  name  the 
diocese  is  to  bear  from  this  year  of   1898  on. 

In  1844  Chicago  was  separated  from  the  diocese  of  Vincennes 
•and  Bishop  Hailandiere  withdrew  from  that  field,  also  Father  de 
St.  Palais,  who  was  to  be  a  future  bishop  of  Vincennes,  and 
JFathers  Dupontavice  and  Gueguen. 

•Among  the  affairs  which  had  distressed  Bishop  Hailandiere 
A\^as  a  difficulty  in  the  then  town  of  Chicago  which  smacked  of  the 
nature  of  a  schism.  After  others  had  failed  to  remove  the  trouble 
the  good  bishop  himself  happily  succeeded  in  the  work. 

He  next  had  to  face  the  infamous  charge  of  rape  preferred  by 
an  evil  and  designing  female,  named  Schmoll,  against  one  of  his 
priests.  Father  Weinzoepfel,  at  the  town  of  Evansville.  At  that 
time  the  spirit  of  bigotry,  imported  from  the  east,  was  being 
fanned  into  a  consuming  flame  in  Kentucky  and  Indiana.  In 
consequence  the  accused  was  cast  into  prison.  Later  he  was 
brought  to  what  was  miscalled  a  trial,  at  which  he  was  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  prison  for  five  years  by  a  judge  who  lived  long 
enough  himself  to  know  that  even  the  common  people  knew  of 
his  wickedness.  "  Divorce  this  case  from  the  Catholic  church," 
said  Judge  Pitcher,  who  was  one  of  the  attorneys  for  the  defense, 
"and  such  a  prosecution  would  not  be  listened  to  or  tolerated  by 
an  honorable  court." 

Father  Weinzoepfel  was  pardoned  by  the  governor  in  Febru- 
ary, 1845,  after  he  had  been  in  prison  from  the  12th  day  of  March  of 
the  previous  year.  Not  only  the  governor  of  the  state  but  the 
•entire  community  were  convinced  of  the  innocence  of  the  priest. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

For  a  time  the  effect  of  the  affair  was  bad,  but  later  even  the 
wicked  woman  herself  and  her  husband  confessed  that  she  had 
been  bribed  to  so  charge  the  priest  with  guilt,  but  that  he  was 
innocent,  and  that  she  was  a  perjurer. 

Bishop  Hailandiere  believed  in  the  innocence  of  Father  Wein- 
zoepfel  and  would  not  during  his  life  permit  the  priest  to  retire 
to  a  monastry,  which  he  had  wished  to  do.  So  universal  was  the 
sympathy  for  the  outraged  priest  that  on  the  4th  of  September,  1 88 1 , 
in  the  city  of  Evansville,  where  his  life  was  in  danger  forty  years 
before,  and  where  he  was  accused  by  the  female,  Schmoll,  he  laid 
the  corner  stone  of  the  church  of  St.  Boniface  in  the  presence  of 
a  vast  assemblage  of  the  people,  who  were  present  as  much  to 
give  testimony  of  their  faith  in  the  good  priest  as  to  assist  at  the 
sacred  ceremonies. 

In  1845  Bishop  Hailandiere  again  visited  Rome,  this  time  to 
lay  his  troubles  before  the  then  reigning  Pope,  Gregory  XVI,  and 
beg  to  be  permitted  to  resign  his  office.  He  was  driven  to  this 
because  of  the  lagging  of  affairs  in  his  diocese — a  standing-still 
which  was  accounted  for  because  of  the  hard  times  and  lack  of 
means  to  make  improvements,  and  in  part  also  because  the  good 
bishop  was  himself  wanting  in  executive  ability.  The  Pope,  how- 
ever, would  not  accept  the  bishop's  resignation,  but  sent  him  back 
to  his  diocese  loaded  with  presents  and  blessings  both  for  himself 
and  his  liock. 

Bishop  Hailandiere,  on  his  return,  brought  more  priests  and 
students  for  his  missions,  renewed  his  efforts  for  the  good  of 
religion,  and  to  a  degree  had  resigned  himself  to  the  obedience  of 
dwelling  in  the  midst  of  discontent.  His  labors  were  ineffectual, 
and  the  situation  became  so  sufficiently  pronounced  the  following 
year  that,  in  1847,  at  his  most  urgent  request  and  for  the  good  of 
the  diocese  which  he  loved,  he  was  relieved  of  his  great  burden 
and  his  successor.  Father  John  Steven  Bazin,  of  Mobile,  Ala.,  was 
appointed  in  his  stead. 

Bishop  Hailandiere  remained  to  assist  at  the  consecration  of 
Bishop  Bazin.  After  this  event  he  visited  for  his  health  for  a  few 
months  in  the  south  and  was  at  Philadelphia  on  his  way  back  to 
France  when  he  learned  of  the  death  of  Bishop   Bazin,  after  just. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

six  months  of  administering  the  diocese.  He  continued  his  jour- 
ney to  New  York,  where  he  met  Bishop  Hughes,  and  from  which 
point  he  wrote  letters  to  some  of  the  Vincennes  priests  prophesy- 
ing that  one  of  their  number  would  most  likely  be  chosen  bishop.* 

Arriving  in  France  a  "  Bishop  without  a  see,"  he  retired  on 
his  family  estate,  which  afforded  him  a  living  until  his  death.  This 
estate  was  situated  at  Triandin,  near  Combourg.  By  economy  he 
always  saved  some  money,  which,  from  time  to  time,  he  sent  to 
aid  his  old  diocese  of  Vincennes.  The  last  remittance  was  the 
year  before  his  death,  1881,  when  $750  was  the  amount  he  had 
saved  up  for  his  beloved  diocese.  He  died  May  i,  1882,  in  his 
eighty-fourth  year,  and,  at  his  own  request,  his  body  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  city  of  Vincennes,  where  it  was  interred  November 
22,  1882,  with  all  the  solemn  rites  of  the  church.  Archbishop 
Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  celebrated  the  mass  on  the  occasion,  and 
Bishop  Chatard,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  see  of  Vincennes, 
preached  the  sermon. 

A  memorial  service  was  held  in  St.  John's  church,  Indianapo- 
lis, June  7,  1882.  at  which  a  panegyric  was  delivered  on  Bishop 
Halandiere   by  his  nephew.  Rev.  E.  Audran,  of  Jeffersonville. 

BISHOP    CELESTINE  GUYNEMER  DE  LA  HAILANDIERE. 

The  second  bishop  of  Vincennes  was  eighty-four  years  old 
lacking  one  day  when  he  died.  In  1836  he  left  Combourg,  France, 
the  place  of  his  birth,  and  accompanied  Bishop  Brute  to  Indiana. 
In  1839  he  was  consecrated  as  the  successor  of  Bishop  Brute  for 
the  see  of  Vincennes.  Having  been  born  May  2,  1798,  he  was  in 
his  day  the  youngest  bishop  in  the  United  States.  In  physical 
appearance  he  was  a  large  man,  imposing  and  fine-looking.  His 
heart  was  in  keeping  with  his  make-up,  for  he  was  generous  and 
devoted  to  his  trust.  This  was  evidenced  by  his  substantial  love 
for  the   diocese  of   Vincennes  during  the  thirty-five   years   of   his 

^Although  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Ue  La  Hailandiere  had  resigned  of  his  own 
accord,  when  the  time  came  to  leave  the  diocese  for  which  he  had  worked  so  hard, 
and  which  he  loved  so  much,  his  courage  failed,  and  he  was  very  anxious  to 
remain  at  Highland,  and  form  there  a  house  of  missionary  priests,  to  give  missions 
in  the  diocese  and  elsewhere.  But  Bishop  Bazin,  fearing  some  misunderstandmg 
in  the  future,  refused  to  accede  to  that  request,  and  Bishop  De  La  Hailandiere"s 
feelings  were  severely  hurt  by  that  refusal. — Rt.  Rev.  Aug.  Bcssonies. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

life  after  he  resigned  as  its  bishop.  He  was  a  man  of  wonderful' 
energy  and  force  of  character,  while  his  intellect  was  far  beyond 
the  average. 

Bishop  Hailandiere's  resignation  of  his  office  in  the  face  of 
difficulties  has  been  regarded  by  some  priests  as  an  evidence  of 
weakness.  On  the  surface  it  would  appear  so,  but  in  reality  he 
was  not  a  weak  man.  The  fact  is,  he  was  strong.  He  knew  the 
nature  and  source  of  the  troubles  which  impeded  his  progress;  he 
knew  how  to  remedy  them,  too;  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as  not 
being  able  to  carry  out  one's  ideas.  To  have  a  theory — the  right 
theory — and  to  reduce  that  theory  to  practice,  are  very  different 
things.  Some  men,  otherwise  weak  men,  are  equal  to  doing  such 
a  thing,  while  other  men,  acknowledged  to  be  strong  men,  are 
unequal  to  the  work.  It  was  so  with  Bishop  Hailandiere.  He  was 
unequal  to  marshaling  the  forces  within  his  control  to  accomplish 
a  task  of  which  he  had  the  clearest  insight. 

This  good  man,  to  those  who  knew  him  well,  presented  a  pic- 
ture in  which  the  colors  were  happily  blended,  with  here  and  there 
the  shading  rather  pronounced.  The  contour  was  grand,  the  detail 
worked  to  a  nicety,  while  certain  features  were  not  only  beautiful 
but  very  prominent.  The  man  thus  painted  will  never  be  forgot- 
ten in  Indiana  as  the  second  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Vincinnes. 

BISHOP    JOHN    S.    BAZIX'S    ADMINISTRATION. 

Right  Rev.  John  Stephen  Bazin  was  consecrated  bishop  of 
Vincennes,  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  at  Vincennes,. 
October  24,  1847,  and  he  died  April  23,  1848,  after  a  reign  of  just 
six  months,  less  one  day.  He  was  in  his  fifty-second  year  at  the 
time  of  his  appointment,  and  when  he  received  the  papal  bulls 
announcing  to  him  his  selection  for  the  see  of  Vincennes  he  was 
vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Mobile,  Ala.,  in  which  diocese  he 
had  labored  for  seventeen  years. 

His  own  beloved  bishop,  the  Right  Rev.  Michael  Portier,  of 
Mobile,  performed  the  ceremony  of  consecration,  assisted  by  Bishop 
Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  and  the  retiring  bishop  of  Vincennes.  Bishop 
Purcell  preached  the  sermon  on  the  occasion,  and  he  voiced,  in  his 
own  eloquent  and  happy  way,  many  of   the  sentiments  expressed 


L., 


RT.   REV.  JOHN   STEPHEN   BAZIN, 
THIRD   BISHOP  OF  VINCENNES. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

by  the  newly  consecrated  bishop  in  his  first  and  only  pastoral  let- 
ter. These  sentiments  were  kindness,  devotedness  and  a  holy  zeal 
for  imparting  to  the  youth  of  our  country  a  knowledge  of  the  truths 
of  the  Catholic  religion. 

Bishop  Bazin  was  a  native  of  the  arch-diocese  of  Lyons,  France, 
having  been  born  in  1796.  He  emigrated  to  this  country  in  1830, 
and  was  in  his  fifty-third  year  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was 
the  possessor  of  many  excellent  qualities  of  both  head  and  heart, 
which,  had  he  lived,  would  undoubtedly  have  been  exercised  to 
good  advantage  in  Indiana.  He  would  have  been  loved  by  both 
priests  and  people  for  his  gentleness  of  disposition,  and  for  the  true 
missionary  spirit  which  was  his  by  both  nature  and  cultivation. 
An  index  to  the  esteem  in  which  he  would  have  been  held  in  Indi- 
ana, had  he  lived,  may  be  found  in  the  high  regard  which  the 
people  of  Mobile  entertained  for  him  from  the  day  when  he  began 
his  ministry  among  them.  The  knowledge  of  what  he  was  to  the 
people  of  the  south,  coupled  with  the  little  that  was  known  of  him 
personally  during  his  short  administration  as  bishop  of  \'incennes, 
has  already  endeared  his  memory  to  those  who  read  the  history  of 
the  early  days  of  the  church  in  Indiana. 

On  his  death-bed  he  appointed  as  his  vicar-general  Father 
Maurice  de  St.  Palais,  who  was  later  chosen  to  succeed  him  in  the 
see  of  Vincennes.  His  remains  lie  next  to  those  of  Bishop  Brute, 
in  the  old  cathedral  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  at  Vincennes,  where 
neither  priest  nor  layman  ever  enter  without  breathing  a  prayer  or 
voicing  a  kindly  sentiment  for  "poor  Bishop  Bazin." 

The  early  days  of  Catholicity  in  Indiana,  so  fraught  with 
vicissitudes  and  trials,  and  during  which  both  priests  and  bishops 
were  called  upon  to  make  so  many  sacrifices,  wear  for^us  of  to-day 
a  tinge  of  the  melancholy  blended  with  the  heroic. 

What  emotions  are  stirred  by  the  picture  of  a  lonely  priest 
treading  his  way  through  the  unbroken  forest,  fording  swollen 
streams,  sleeping  in  the  open  air,  going  for  days  without  even  the 
scantiest  nourishment — and  all  that  isolated  Catholic  families  in 
the  wilderness,  or  roving  bands  of  savage  Indians  might  have  the 
graces  and  consolations  of  the  religion  of  Christ  brought  to  them! 
And  then  to  see  the  bearers  of   the  glad  tidings  set  upon  by  the 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

savages,  and  in  many  instances  brutally  murdered  while  heroically 
and  lovingly  spending  themselves  for  the  good  of  others — the  con- 
templation of  such  heroism  and  devotedness  stirs  the  soul  so  deeply 
and  complete!}'  that,  in  our  day  of  ease  and  convenience  and  rosy 
surroundings.  Catholic  men  and  women  ought  to  be  inclined  to  leap 
from  cushioned  pews  and  frescoed  walls  and  from  an  atmosphere 
heavy  with  soul-soothing  music,  but  to  exclaim  before  all  the 
world:  "  Oh,  Lord,  we  are  not  worthy  of  such  ease  and  delights!  " 
And  how  true  and  fitting  would  be  such  an  exclamation  in 
these  last  years  of  the  nineteenth  century!  In  this  day  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  dollar,  and  of  the  prevalence  of  much  worldli- 
ness,  how  deaf  have  the  people  become  to  the  voices  of  the  past, 
and  how  blind  to  the  scenes  of  the  struggles  and  privations  of  the 
early  missionaries  and  of  the  Catholic  pioneers  in  Indiana  and  the 
west!  The  fact  is  that  Catholics  have  so  much  to  be  thankful  for 
that  the  notion  of  their  great  indebtedness  ought  to  overwhelm  them. 


(74) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

RIGHT  REV.  MAURICE  DE  ST.  PALAIS,  THE  FOURTH  BISHOP  OF  VIN- 
CENNES — STATE  OF  THE  DIOCESE  IN  1 849 —  THE  BISHOP's 
LABORS  AND  THEIR  RICH  REWARDS HIS  DEATH  AND  CHARAC- 
TERISTICS. 

IN  the  previous  chapter  we  have  seen  that   Bishop  Bazin,  on  his 
death-bed,    appointed   his   vicar-general,   Very  Rev.  M.  de  St. 
Palais,   administrator  of  the   affairs   of  the  diocese  of  Vincennes, 
until   such  time   as   a  bishop  would   be   chosen.      Father   de   St, 
Palais  acted  in  that  capacity  from  April  23,  1848,  until  October  3, 
of  the  same  year,  when,  he  was  himself  precognized  bishop  by  Pope 
Pius  IX,  who  had   been  elected  Pope,  June  16,   1846.      His  conse- 
cration took  place   in   the   cathedral,    at   Vincennes,   January    14, 
1849.      Bishop   Miles,  of  Nashville,  was   the   consecrating  bishop, 
assisted  by  Bishop  Spalding,  of  Louisville.      On  the  occasion  there 
was  a  vast   audience,  and  a  large  number  of  priests  were  present. 
The   Catholic   population   of    the   diocese  of    Vincennes   was 
about  30,000  in  1849,  and  there  were  then  just  thirty-five  priests 
to  attend  to  their  spiritual  wants.      The  names  of  the  several  par- 
ishes  and    missions,  or   stations,  to    the   number  of   fifty,  and   the 
priests   in   charge   of  the   same    were   taken   from    the    records   by 
Father  Alerding,  and   are   here   given,    to   show  the   state   of  the 
diocese  when  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  took  charge: 

1-2.  Rev.  Ernest  Audran  and  Rev.  John  B.  Chasse  at  \'incennes,  cathe- 
dral of  St.  Francis  Xavier.  St.  Rose  of  Lima  at  Faux-Chenel,  and  St.  Thomas  in 
Tueret's  Prairie,  both  in  Knox  county,  and  Carlisle,  in  Sullivan  county,  were 
attended  from  Vincennes. 

3.  Rev.  Conrad  Schniederjans,  at  Vincennes,  m  charge  of  the  German 
congregation. 

4.  Rev.  John  McDermott,  at  Washington,  Daviess  county,  St.  Simon's 
•church. 

5  "Jib) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

5.  Rev.  Bartholomew  Piers,  at  St.  Peter's,  Daviess  county,  attending  also 
to  St.  Patrick's,  same  county. 

6.  Rev.  Patrick  Murphy,  at  St.  Mary's,  Daviess  county,  attending  also  to 
Mount  Pleasant,  in  Martin  county. 

7.  Rev.  Joseph  Kundeck,  at  Jasper,  Dubois  county,  having  charge  also  of 
St.  Celestine's,  same  county. 

8.  Rev.  William  Doyle,  at  P^erdinand,  Dubois  county,  attending  also  to 
Troy,  in  Perry  county. 

9.  Rev.  Augustine  Bessonies,  at  Leopold,  Perry  county.  He  attended  also 
to  several  stations  in  Spencer,  Warrick  and  Crawford  counties,  besides  Rome, 
Fredonia,  Leavenworth  and  Rockport. 

10.  Rev.  Anthony  Deydier,  at  Evansville,  Vanderburg  county,  church  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception. 

IL  Rev.  Roman  Weinzoepfel,  at  St.  Joseph's,  in  Vanderburg  county,  who 
attended  also  to  St.  Wendel,  in  Posey  county,  and  two  other  stations.  (Vernon^ 
in  Posey  county,  was  visited  by  Rev.  E.  Durbin,  from  Kentucky.) 

12.  Rev.  Hippolyce  du  Pontavice,  at  Madison,  Jefferson  county,  St.  Mi- 
chael's church. 

13.  Rev.  Daniel  Maloney,  at  Columbus,  Bartholomew  county.  He 
attended  also  to  Scipio  and  St.  Catherine's,  in  Jennings  county,  and  to  Mar- 
tinsville, in  Morgan  county. 

14.  Rev.  Adolph  Munshina,  at  St.  Magdalen's,  in  Ripley  county,  attending 
also  to  Rockford  and  Vernon,  in  the  same  county,  to  St.  Ann's,  in  Jennings  county, 
and  to  Muehlhausen,  in  Decatur  county. 

15.  Rev.  Louis  Neyron,  at  New  Albany,  Floyd  county,  who  attended^ 
besides,  to  the  Knobs,  church  of  the  Assumjjtion,  and  to  Jeffersonville  and 
Charlestown. 

16.  Rev.  John  Dion,  Lanesville,  Harrison  county,  who  visited,  also,  Miller's 
settlement  in  the  same  county,  and  two  other  stations. 

17.  Rev.  Martin  Stahl,  at  New  Alsace,  Dearborn  county,  St.  John's  church. 

18.  Rev.  Andrew  Benet,  at  St.  Joseph's,  Dearborn  county,  attending  also 
to  St.  Paul's  and  Lawrenceburg,  same  county. 

19.  Rev.  William  Engeln,  at  Brookville,  Franklin  county,  having  charge 
also  of  St.  Peter's,  and  St.  Mary's  of  the  Rocks,  same  county. 

20.  Rev.  Joseph  Rudolph,  at  Oldenburg,  Franklin  county,  attending,, 
besides,  to  Enochsburg,  same  county,  and  to  Pipe  Creek,  St.  Nicholas  church,  in 
Ripley  county. 

21.  Rev.  Anthony  Carius,  at  Richmond,  Wayne  county,  St.  Andrew's 
church,  visiting,  besides,  Cambridge,  Hagerstown  and  Abbington,  same  county,, 
and  Laurel,  Franklin  county. 

22.  Rev.  John  Gueguen,  at  Indianapoli.s,  Marion  county,  visiting,  also,  St. 
Vincent's,  Shelby  county;  Strawtown,  Hamilton  county;  Cumberland,  Hancock 
county,  and  Pendleton,  Madison  county. 

23.  Rev.  Michael  Clarke,  at  LaFayette,  Tippecanoe  county,  St.  Mary's 
church,  attending,  also,  to  Covington,  Delphi  and  other  stations. 

24.  Rev.  John  Ryan,  at  La  Gro,  Wabash  county,  having  charge,  also,  of 
Huntington,  in  Huntington  county. 


(76) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

25.  Rev.  Talrick  McDoiniott,  at  Logansport,  Cass  county,  attending', 
besides,  to  Peru,  in  Miami  county. 

2()  '27.  Rev.  Julian  Henoit  and  Rev.  Edward  Failer,  at  Fort  Wayne,  in 
Allen  county.  They  attended,  also,  to  Hesse  Cassel  and  St.  Vincent's,  same 
county,  and  io  several  stations  in  LaGrange,  Steuben,  Noble,  Whitley,  DeKalb 
and  Wells  counties. 

28.  Rev.  Edward  Serin,  South  Hend,  St.  Joseph  county. 

29.  Rev.  E.  Delisle,  South  Bend,  St.  Joseph  county. 

30.  Rev.  Francis  Cointet,  South  Bend,  St.  Joseph  county. 
IM.     Rev.  Francis  Gouesse,  South  Bend,  St.  Joseph  county. 

82.  Rev.  Theophilus  Mainault,  South  Bend,  St.  Joseph  county,  Our  Lady 
of  the  Lake.  These  fathers  visited,  also,  from  their  institution,  Mishawaka,  St. 
Joseph  county;  Michigan  City,  Laporte  county;  St.  John's,  Lake  county;  also,. 
Goshen,  Leesburg,  Plymouth  and  other  stations. 

38.  Rev.  Simon  P.  Lalumiere,  at  Terre  Haute,  Vigo  county,  attending, 
besides,  to  Montezuma,  Clinton  and  Merom. 

84.  Rev.  John  Corbe,  at  St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods,  near  Terre  Haute,  Vigo- 
county. 

85.  Rev.  A.  Granger,  at  Indianapolis,  master  of  novices  for  the  novitiate  of 
the  Brothers  of  St.  Joseph. 

At  the  time  when  the  above  records  were  copied  (1849)  the 
educational  affairs  of  the  diocese  were  not  only  promising,  but 
pretty  well  established.  It  was  then  that  the  university  of  Notre 
Dame,  founded  by  the  society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  was  in  its 
infancy  and  began  to  show  the  first  indications  of  what  it  is  to-day. 
The  same  was  the  case  with  St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods,  established 
by  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  who  were  also  in  charge  of  parochial 
schools  at  Vincennes,  Jasper,  Madison  and  Fort  Wayne.  The 
Brothers  of  St.  Joseph,  an  educational  order,  had  their  novitiate 
at  Indianapolis,  and  conducted  schools  both  there  and  at  Wash- 
ington, Daviess  county,  Fort  Wayne,  Madison  and  Vincennes. 
The  Theological  seminary,  located  at  Vincennes,  was  at  that  time 
conducted  by  the  priests  stationed  at  the  cathedral,  and  seven  stu- 
dents were  being  prepared  in  it  for  the- priesthood. 

With  this  promising  and  comparatively  prosperous  state  of 
affairs  obtaining,  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  was  not  obliged,  nor  was  it 
according  to  his  nature,  to  rush  things.  He  proceeded  in  the  even 
tenor  of  his  dignified  way,  not  only  to  conserve  what  had  been 
established,  but  also  to  direct  and  develop  whatever  appeared  of 
promise  to  further  the  interests  of  religion,  education  and  active 
charity  in  his  diocese. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  foreign  assistance,  heretofore  relied  upon,  received,  and 
used  for  seminary  purposes,  not  then  being  available  or  likely  to  be 
again,  he  established,  in  1850,  the  Easter  and  Christmas  collections, 
yet  in  force,  the  one  for  the  benefit  of  the  seminary  and  the  other 
in  aid  of  the  orphans.  The  good  bishop  was  about  equally  devoted 
to  both,  with  the  claims  of  the  orphans  and  widows  appealing 
more  directly  to  his  very  kind  and  generous  heart.  Hence  the 
orphanage  and  the  seminary,  both  at  Vincennes,  received  his 
closest  attention,  and,  indeed,  called  forth  his  very  best  efforts, 
the  former  particularly,  for,  later,  it  became  one  of  his  dearest 
charges. 

So  well  had  it  gone  with  the  religious  educational  institutions 
established  in  the  diocese,    and  so  considerate  of  them   was  the 
bishop    at   all   times  that,    on    these     things    becoming   known    in 
France,  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  had   but  to  invite,  and  almost  any  of 
the  prominent  orders,  male  or  female,  were  ready  to  come  to  him. 
Hence  the  presence  in  his   day    in  Indiana  of  the  Benedictines, 
Franciscans,    an  increased    number    of    the  Society  of  the    Holy 
Cross,  the  Brothers  of  the  Sacred    Heart   and   others.      The  Ben- 
edictine order  had  established,  in  1852,  a  branch  of  its  great  mon- 
astic institution  at  what  is  now  known   as  St.  Meinrad's,  but  more 
jjroperly  described  as  Harrison  township,  in  Spencer  county,  Ind. 
The  site  of  the  abbey  comprises  160  acres.      It    is  now  the  ecclesi- 
iastical  seminary  for  the  diocese  of  Vincennes,  and   in    Bishop  de 
St.  Palais'  day  received  his  warmest  encouragement.      At  this  writ- 
ing it  is  one  of  the   great   ecclesiastical  educational  institutions  of 
the  west.     The  same  was  the  case   respecting  the  pre'sence   in  the 
diocese  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  the    Ursuline  Sisters,  the   Nuns  of 
the  Order  of   St.  Benedict,  and   the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor. 

Touching  the  work  performed  by  the  priests  in  those  days,  it 
'can  be  said  that  they  labored  faithfully  and  well,  with  the  best 
results  following.  The  priest  has  his  obligations  as  well  as  the 
bishop  has  his,  and,  independent  of  the  presence  of  the  bishop, 
the  good  priest  always  walks  in  the  way  of  duty.  But  while 
priests  are  spiritual  directors  and  leaders  of  the  people,  they  are 
yet  only  men,  with  their  own  share  of  human  nature  about  them. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

From  this  it  can  be  inferred  that  a  bishop,  who  possesses  to  a 
great  degree  those  natural  virtues  that  are  expected  to  shine  forth 
in  the  character  of  the  real  gentleman,  will  have  a  more  potent 
influence  among  his  prietss  than  will  a  bishop  who  is  deficient  in 
this  respect,  no  matter  how  well  equipped  he  may  be  in  others. 

It  may  not  be  history  to  branch  off  as  we  have  in  the  para- 
graph just  written,  but  the  application  and  the  fact  run  together  in- 
affirming  that  few  bishops  were  ever  better  loved  by  their  priests^ 
than  was  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  by  his.  This  was  so  not  only  regard- 
ing those  who  accompanied  him  from  France,  and  those  who  were 
in  the  field  when  he  arrived,  but  it  was  especially  so  in  case  of 
the  ninety  priests  who  received  ordination  at  his  hands.  They  all 
respected,  revered  and  loved  him,  and  the  instances  were  few  where 
strained  relations  ever  obtained  between  them. 

In  no  case  was  this  more  practically  demonstrated  than  in 
1857,  when  the  diocese  was  divided  a  second  time  and  the  north- 
ern half  of  Indiana  was  set  apart  as  the  territory  of  the  diocese  of 
Fort  Wayne,  of  which  Rt.  Rev.  John  H.  Luers  was  appointed  the 
first  bishop.  The  priests  of  the  northern  half  of  the  diocese  of  Vin- 
cennes,  while  obedient,  were  yet  loath  to  part  from  Bishop  de  St. 
Palais.  Many  were  the  expressions  of  tender  regard  exchanged 
between  them  and  their  old  bishop,  and  at  his  death  those  of  them 
yet  alive  mourned  him  with  a  filial  tenderness  that  was  most 
affecting*. 

Bishop  de  St.  Palais  visited  Rome  three  times  according  to 
the  obligation  of  his  office — in  1849,  1859  and  1869.  During  the 
last  visit  he  assisted  at  the  Vatican  council,  in  which  he  showed 
himself  a  firm,  logical  believer  in  and  advocate  of  the  decree  of 
the  council  touching  papal  infallibility.  He  returned  to  his  diocese 
shortly  after  the  close  of  the  Vatican  council,  impressed  more  than 
ever  with  his  obligations  to  his  flock  and  with  seemingly  an  increased 
love  for  both  priests  and  people.       While  in  France  both  his  love 

*  One  of  the  few  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  of  kindness  obtaining 
between  the  priests  of  the  diocese  of  Vincennes  and  Bishop  de  St.  Pahiis  was  a 
petition  sent  to  Rome  by  a  large  number  of  the  German  priests  complaining  that 
in  the  appointment  to  the  more  important  and  lucrative  parishes  the  bishop  favored 
the  French  and  Irish  priests.  This  charge  had  a  bad  effect  upon  the  health  of  the 
bishop,  and  at  his  funeral  Bishop  Dwenger  more  than  intimated  that  it  had  hastened 
the  death  of  Bishop  de  St.  Palais. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

and  his  sense  of  dut}^  in  these  respects  were  put  to  the  test  by 
more  than  an  intimation  that  one  of  the  most  prominent  arch-episco- 
pal sees  of  that  country  could  be  his  were  he  willing  to  accept  the 
the  charge.  He  refused  to  consider  the  proposition,  as  to  do  so 
would  not  comport  with  his  love  for  his  "dear  church  in  Indiana." 
June  28,  1877,  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  was  stricken  with  paraly- 
sis at  St.  Mary  of  the  Woods,  Ind.,  where  he  was  in  attendance  at 
the  commencement  exercises  of  that  favorite  institution.  He  lived 
but  nine  hours  after  he  was  taken  ill,  and  for  the  fourth  time  the 
diocese  of  Vincennes  was  widowed.  He  was  buried  July  3,  in  the 
cathedral  at  Vincennes,  the  solemn  services  having  been  performed 
by  Archbishop  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  assisted  by  Bishops  Foley,  of 
Chicago;  Baltes,  of  Alton;  Spalding,  of  Louisville,  and  Dwenger, 
of  Fort  Wayne,  which  latter  preached  the  funeral  discourse.  Over 
100  priests  were  in  attendance  and  the  funeral  cortege  was  the 
largest  and  most  imposing  ever  witnessed  in  Indiana. 

Bishop  Purcell,  after  the  funeral,  appointed  Very  Rev.  Aug. 
Bessonies  administrator  until  the  appointment  of  a  bishop.  This 
action  by  Bishop  Purcell  was  rendered  necessary,  since  Bishop  de 
St.  Palais  had  left  no  will  and  was  unable  to  speak  after  he  was 
stricken  with  paralysis.  Bishop  Chatard,  after  his  appointment, 
continued  Father  Bessonies  in  the  administratorship  until  his 
arrival  in  the  diocese. 

After  a  ministry  of  forty-one  years  in  his  diocese,  twenty- 
eight  of  them  as  bishop,  he  died  conscious  that  his  labors  and 
those  of  his  priests  were  rewarded  with  good  results.  Of  this  fact 
the  proof  is  that  the  diocese  of  Vincennes  in  that  year  (1877)  had 
a  Catholic  population  of  over  90,000,  with  127  priests  and  151 
churches,  the  educational  and  charitable  institutions  being  well  in 
keeping. 

If  greater  or  more  minute  details  were  required  to  show  how 
successful  Bishop  de  St.  Palais'  administration  had  been  they 
might  be  forthcoming,  but  they  would  scarcely  comport  with  the 
scope  of  this  work.  To  tell  the  story  of  conversions,  of  which 
there  were  many;  to  recite  the  number  of  contributions  and 
bequests,  which  were  by  no  means  few;  or  to  recount  the  difficul- 
ties or  merely  local  happenings  connected  immediately  or  remotely 


■'»*, 


-"^y^s 


'.  <~" 


RT.  REV.  MAURICE  DE  ST.  PALAIS,  D.  D. 
FOURTH   BISHOP  OF  VINCENNES. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

with  the  organization  of  this  or  that  parish  or  mission,  would  be 
to  cumber  these  pages  too  much  with  matter  of  no  general  interest, 
and  therefore  scarcely  worthy  of  being  preserved.  But  as  a  mod- 
erate amount  of  matter  of  this  character  has  been  happily  woven 
into  a  sketch  of  the  good  bishop's  life  by  the  Hon.  Henry  S.  Cau- 
thorn,  of  Vincennes,  Ind.,  we  will  here  reproduce  it,  and  for  the 
additional  reason  that  it  is  a  very  clever  recital  of  the  life  and 
labors  of  that  great  and  good  man. 

SKETCH  OF  BISHOP  DE  ST.    PALAIS. 

James  M.  Maurice  De  Long  D'Aussac  De  St.  Palais,  the 
fourth  bishop  of  Vincennes,  was  born  at  La  Salvetat,  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Montpelier,  in  France,  on  the  15th  day  of  November,  181  i. 
He  descended  from  a  very  ancient  and  noble  family,  and  could 
trace  his  ancestral  line  of  descent  back  through  centuries.  His 
family  was  very  wealthy,  and  always  took  an  active  and  prominent 
part  in  public  affairs,  and  many  of  its  members  acquired  fame  and 
distinction  in  the  military  service  of  the  country.  Members  of 
his  family,  centuries  before  his  time,  were  known  to  have  taken 
a  prominent  and  active  part  in  the  crusades,  and  also  in  the  long 
and  bloody  wars  against  the  Moors. 

Young  de  St.  Palais  very  early  gave  evidence  of  more  than 
ordinary  abilities,  and  as  he  was  destined  to  inherit  great  wealth 
and  titles  of  nobility,  his  parents  determined  to  give  him  an  educa- 
tion fit  for  the  e.xalted  position  he  was  sure  to  occupy  in  course  of 
time.  For  this  purpose  they  sent  him  away  from  their  home  in 
the  south  of  France  to  Paris,  then  the  grand  center,  both  political 
and  intellectual,  of  European  civilization,  where  he  received  a  clas- 
sical education  in  the  celebrated  educational  institutions  of  the 
French  metropolis.  Having  completed  his  secular  studies,  and 
when  thoroughly  prepared  to  enter  upon  the  brilliant  career  in  any 
sphere  of  civil  life  which  his  native  talents  and  acquired  attain- 
ments, in  connection  with  his  birth  and  wealth,  assured,  to  the 
surprise  of  his  family  and  friends  he  announced  his  determination 
to  renounce  all  the  glories  and  honors  the  world  could  give  him, 
and  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the  church  as  a  priest.  He 
accordingly  at  once  entered  as  a  student    in  the  celebrated    semi- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

nary  of  St.  Sulpice  in  Paris,  where  Bishops  Brute,  de  la  Hailandiere 
and  so  many  other  distinguished  prelates  of  the  Catholic  church 
were  educated.  In  this  justly  celebrated  seminary  he  prosecuted 
his  philosophical  and  theological  studies,  and  in  the  year  1836, 
when  he  was  twenty-five  years  old,  he  was  ordained  priest,  about 
the  same  time  the  sainted  Bishop  Brute  was,  in  France,  seeking 
missionaries  for  his  diocese,  and  it  has  been  said  that  he  was 
ordained  priest  by  this  good  man.  However  that  may  be,  it  is 
certain  that  on  this  visit  to  France  of  Bishop  Brute  he  became 
acquainted  with  him,  and  his  fervent  soul  was  aroused  by  his 
recital  of  the  pressing  want  of  priests  in  his  diocese,  and  that  he 
determined  to  leave  his  native  country,  with  all  its  charms  and 
fascinations,  his  noble  and  wealthy  kindred  and  the  friends  of  his 
youth,  to  go  to  a  strange  and  wild  country,  and  literally  bury  him- 
self from  the  presence  of  all  refined  and  civilized  life  in  the  forests 
of  the  west.  He  therefore  accompanied  Bishop  Brute  on  his  return 
to  his  diocese,  and  arrived  at  Vincennes  in  1836.  He  was  then 
a  young  priest,  it  being  the  same  year  of  his  ordination.  His  first 
work  in  the  diocese  was  at  a  station  about  thirty-five  miles  east  of 
Vincennes,  in  the  very  heart  of  a  wilderness  country.  Here  this 
man,  an  heir  of  wealth  and  to  lordly  titles  born,  settled  down  to 
his  work  with  apostolical  zeal,  destitute  of  the  comforts  and  many 
of  the  necessaries  of  life.  From  what  I  know  of  the  locality  in 
which  he  commenced  his  ministerial  career  in  this  diocese,  and  that 
knowledge  applying  to  it  at  a  much  later  period,  I  am  warranted 
in  saying  that,  on  many  occasions,  he  was  compelled  to  prepare  his 
own  dinner,  if,  indeed,  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  have  anything  to 
prepare.  From  this  station  in  the  woods  he  also  administered  to 
the  spiritual  wants  of  the  few  scattered  Catholics  in  the  neighbor- 
ing counties  around  him. 

The  Catholics  within  the  range  of  his  administrations  were  all 
very  poor,  as  is  the  case  generally  with  the  early  pioneer  settlers 
of  any  country.  But  Father  de  St.  Palais,  notwithstanding  their 
poverty,  devised  many  novel  and  unheard-of  ways  and  means  to 
.  obtain  funds  to  build  churches  and  advance  Catholicity  through- 
out the  wide  region  he  visited  in  the  discharge  of  his  priestly  func- 
tions.     He  here  patiently  and  quietly  labored  literally  in  the  back 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

woods  until  1839,  when  he  was  sent  by  Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere 
to  Chicago.  At  that  time  Chicago  was  a  very  small  place  of  only 
a  few  thousand  population,  but  already  gave  evidence  of  the  wonder- 
ful results  which  have  since  been  realized  and  materialized  by  its 
phenomenal  growth.  Unfortunately  a  schism  in  the  church  had 
been  productive  of  much  harm,  and  it  had  baffled  the  skill  and 
ability  of  many  able  prelates  in  the  efforts  made  to  heal  it.  But 
Father  de  St.  Palais,  by  his  affable  and  genial  disposition,  uniform 
evenness  of  temper  which  it  was  almost  impossible  to  disturb,  at 
length  succeeded  in  procuring  perfect  unity  by  reconciling  all  dif- 
ferences that  had  previously  existed.  He  remained  in  Chicago  for 
five  years,  and  was  then  sent  by  Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere  to 
Logansport,  Indiana.  At  the  time  Father  de  St.  Palais  was  min- 
istering to  the  wants  of  the  Catholics  at  Chicago  and  Logansport, 
there  were  no  facilities  for  travel  as  now,  and  in  fact  very  poor 
roads  of  any  kind,  anywhere,  and  in  places  none  at  all,  so  that  in 
visiting  his  flock,  scattered  here  and  there  for  miles  around  and  far 
apart,  from  the  place  where  he  was  stationed,  he  was  compelled 
to  make  the  transit  of  his  pastoral  visitations  on  horseback,  and  to 
travel  such  long  distances  through  a  sparsely  settled  country  that 
he  was  frequently  compelled  to  pass  the  night  in  the  woods  without 
any  shelter,  and  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  inns  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  travelers,  he  was  compelled  to  carry  his  scanty  supply  of 
provisions  in  his  saddle-bags.  But  his  amiability  and  kindness 
endeared  him  to  the  people  so  that  they  loved  him  and  the  surviv- 
ors yet  hold  him  in  kind  remembrance.  Father  Campion,  the 
present  pastor  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  church  in  Logansport,  in 
the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne,  delivered  a  lecture  in  St.  Francis 
Xavier's  cathedral  in  the  year  1891  to  the  Catholic  Knights,  in 
the  course  of  which  he  aullded  to  Father  de  St.  Palais  and  his  min- 
isterial labors  at  Logansport,  and  said  his  memory  was  still  fresh 
in  the  minds  of  his  former  parishioners,  who  loved  to  speak  in  praise 
of  him. 

He  remained  in  Logansport  about  two  years,  when,  in  1846, 
he  was  transferred  to  Madison,  Ind.,  which  may  be  said  to  have 
been  the  first  station  which  this  cultured  and  noble-born  priest  had 
in  this  diocese  where  he  was  surrounded  with   anything  like  com- 

ib6). 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOi^ICITY 

fort  and  convenience.  He  remained  there  but  one  year,  as  on  the 
accession  of  Bishop  Bazin  to  the  episcopal  chair  of  the  diocese, 
he  called  Father  de  St.  Palais  to  \'incennes  and  appointed  him 
vicar  general  and  superior  of  the  ecclesiastical  seminary.  He 
did  not  discharge  these  functions  very  long,  as  Bishop  Bazin 
lived  only  six  months,  less  one  day,  after  his  consecration.  On 
his  death  bed  Bishop  Bazin  appointed  Father  de  St.  Palais  admin- 
istrator of  the  diocese  during  the  vacancy  of  the  see.  Pope  Pius 
IX  appointed  him  bishop  of  the  diocese  on  the  third  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1848,  and  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  January,  1849,  Bishop 
Miles,  of  Nashville,  assisted  by  Bishop  Spalding,  of  Louisville,  and 
Father  Dupontavice,  consecrated  him  bishop  in  the  cathedral  of 
St.  Francis  Xavier. 

His  appointment  as  bishop  was  received  with  joy  and  delight 
by  both  the  clergy  and  laity.  He  had  been  for  a  long  time  con- 
nected with  the  diocese,  and  had  come  to  it  in  its  infancy  before 
the  Catholics  in  it  were  organized  and  formed  into  congregations; 
had  witnessed  and  assisted  in  its  growth  and  development,  and 
was  well  acquainted  with  all  its  .affairs.  He  .issued  his  first  pas- 
toralietter  in  October,  1849,  and  in  it  he  disclosed  what  subjects 
should  receive  his  special  care  during  his  episcopate.  The  most 
prominent  among  these  was  the  protection  and  care  of  orphan 
children.  This  declaration  in  his  first  pastoral  letter  was  strictly 
adhered  to  by  him  during  the  many  long  j'ears  he  was  the  head  of 
the  Catholic  church  in  the  diocese  of  Vincennes,  and  justified  the 
peculiar  appropriateness  of  the  floral  inscription  that  was  erected  in 
St.  Xavier's  cathedral,  over  the  railing  in  front  of  the  sanctuary, 
on  the  occasion  of  his  funeral,  "The  Father  of  the  Fatherless.  " 
His  care  and  concern  for  the  orphan  children  of  his  diocese  may  be 
said  to  have  marked  and  distinguished  in  a  special  manner  his  epis- 
copate. 

When,  in  1863,  he  erected  on  the  Highland  tract,  near  Vin- 
cennes, the  splendid  asylum  for  boys  which  was  destroyed  by  fire 
in  the  spring  of  1889,  and  when  the  majestic  and  artistic  propor- 
tions of  the  structure  loomed  up  in  full  view  of  the  city,  he  was 
approached  by  many  persons  who  requested  him  to  change  its  use 
and  purpose,  and  establish  in  its  stead   a  college   and  devote  it  to 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

educational  purposes,  as  it  was  too  fine  and  cost!}'  a  building  to  be 
devoted  to  an  asylum  for  orphan  children.  But  Bishop  de  St. 
Palais  would  not  listen  to  such  suggestions  and  would  always  reply 
that,  so  long  as  he  was  bishop  of  the  diocese,  it  should  always  be  the 
home  of  his  destitute  orphan  children.  This  love  and  devotion  to 
the  orphan  children  did  not  wane  but  increased  the  logner  he  con- 
tinued as  bishop. 

He  not  only  devoted  his  attention  to  the  care  of  the  orphans, 
but  also  paid  special  attention  to  the  education  of  priests  and  the 
support  of  the  ecclesiastical  seminary,  for  the  purpose.  He  pro- 
vided for  an  annual  collection  for  the  theological  seminary,  to  be 
taken  up  on  Easter  Sunday. 

When  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  took  charge  of  the  diocese  in 
1849,  which  then  comprised  the  entire  state  of  Indiana,  there  were 
but  thirty-five  priests  in  it,  only  fifty  churches  and  chapels  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  only  about  30,000.  When  he  died  in  1877, 
the  state  had  been  subdivided  and  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne  had 
been  erected,  embracing  about  one  half  of  the  territorial  area  of 
the  state;  and  yet  the  portion  still  embraced  in  the  diocese  of  Fort 
Wayne  contained  117  priests,  151  churches  and  a  population  of 
about  90,000. 

His  administration  was  uniform  and  regular.  He  did  not 
attempt  to  stimulate  or  push  matters,  but  let  everything  take  its 
course,  and  simply  guided  and  controlled  it  as  it  was  carried  along 
by  the  logic  of  events.  He  was  of  an  amiable  and  affable  disposi- 
tion, and  it  took  something  extraordinary  to  ruffle  his  smooth  and 
gentle  temper.  When  he  would  indicate  or  manifest  impatience  or 
displeasure  the  half-formed  frown  that  could  scarcely  find  time  to 
gather  on  his  brow  was  only  temporary,  and  he  would  soon  resume 
his  usual  composure.  Any  sign  of  anger  would  disappear  before  the 
force  and  warmth  of  his  kind  and  affectionate  heart  as  quickly  as  the 
morning  mist  fades  before  the  face  of  the  rising  sun.  Although  he 
did  not,  apparently,  force  matters,  yet  he  neglected  nothing.  He 
pursued  the  calm  and  even  tenor  of  his  way,  and  devoted  all  his 
time  to  the  discharge  of  his  episcopal  duties.  He  noiselessly  and 
quietly  passed  through  his  diocese,  without  seeking,  and  even  wish- 
ing to  avoid,  all   ostentation    and   display.      He   dearly  loved  the 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

diocese  of  Vincennes,  and  would  not  think  of  severing  his  connec- 
tion with  it.  Owing  to  the  position  and  influence  of  his  family  in 
France,  he  could  have,  if  he  had  consented,  been  raised  to  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  desirable  archepiscopal  sees  in  France.  On 
account  of  the  kind  and  hospitable  treatment  Louis  Napoleon 
received  when  an  exile  from  France,  at  the  hands  of  Louis  de  St. 
Palais,  a  brother  of  the  bishop  and  an  officer  in  the  French  naval 
service,  when  later  Napoleon  became  emperor  he  wished  to  requite 
the  kind  offices  of  Louis  de  St.  Palais  by  securing  for  his  brother, 
Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  the  archbishopric  of  Toulouse,  then  vacant, 
and  one  of  the  most  important  in  France.  But  this  honor  Bishop 
de  St.  Palais  declined,  preferring  to  remain  in  the  diocese  of  Vin- 
cennes, which  he  had  assisted  in  founding  and  building  up,  in 
which  he  had  labored  for  so  many  years,  and  in  which  he  wished 
to  die  and  be  buried. 

During  his  administration  many  churches,  asylums  and  institu- 
tions of  learning  were  built,  and  the  visible  and  material  appearance 
of  the  diocese  improved.  He  was  also  instrumental  in  bringing 
into  the  diocese  as  many  as  five  of  the  male  orders  of  the  church, 
including  the  Benedictines  and  Franciscans,  who  have  accomplished 
so  much  good.  He  also  occasioned  the  coming  of  as  many  as 
seven  of  the  female  orders  in  the  church,  whose  labors  and  services 
have  been  equally  beneficial. 

During  his  episcopacy  he  made  as  many  as  three  visits  to 
Rome,  the  grand  center  of  Catholic  light  and  unity,  the  two  after 
the  first,  1849,  in  successive  decades — 1859,  1869.  His  last  visit 
was  in  attending  the  Vatican  council,  which  promulgated  the  decree 
of  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  in  spiritual  matters,  and  which 
dogma  he  firmly  advocated. 

He  was  officially  connected  with  the  diocese  of  \'incennes  for 
a  continuous  period  of  forty-one  years,  from  1836  to  1877,  thirteen 
of  which  he  spent  in  discharging  the  arduous  duties  of  a  missionary 
priest  in  a  new  and  wild  country,  and  twenty-eight  as  the  head  of 
the  diocese. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June,  1877,  he  attended  the  commence- 
ment exercises  of  St.  Mary's  institute  for  young  ladies,  near  Terre 
Haute.      He  was  apparently  in  his  usual  health,  and  the  day  pre- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

vioiis  to  the  paralytic  attack  which  caused  his  death,  he  was  present 
and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  commencement  exercises  of  that 
institution.  On  the  morning  of  June  28,  1877,  on  arising  at  five 
o'clock,  he  was  prostrated  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis  and  died  the 
same  evening  at  five  o'clock.  The  news  of  his  death  was  soon 
known  all  over  the  diocese,  and  was  not  only  a  great  surprise  to 
every  one,  as  he  was  supposed  to  be  in  excellent  health,  but  was  a 
source  of  general  sorrow  and  regret.  His  body  was  embalmed 
and  transferred  on  the  30th  day  of  June  following  to  Vincennes, 
where  his  remains,  incased  in  a  fine  casket  and  robed  in  his  episco- 
pal garments,  were  placed  in  St.  Rose's  chapel,  across  the  street 
from  the  episcopal  residence,  where  they  remained  lying  in  state, 
and  were  visited  and  viewed  by  many  thousands  of  his  friends  and 
acquaintances  until  July  the  3d  following,  when  the  last  sad 
and  solemn  service  of  the  Catholic  church  prescribed  for  such  an 
occasion  was  performed  in  St.  Francis  Xavier's  cathedral,  and  his 
funeral  took  place.  The  church  for  this  occasion  was  heavily^ 
draped  in  mourning,  elaborate  floral  decorations  and  other  artistic 
preparations  were  made,  and  the  interior  of  the  old  cathedral, 
within  which  so  many  grand  ceremonies  had  previously  taken 
place,  never  presented  so  marked  and  memorable  a  display.  An 
excellent  photograph  of  the  interior  of  the  church  as  it  appeared 
on  this  occasion  was  taken,  and  numerous  copies  of  it  made  and 
obtained  by  persons  in  many  parts  of  the  diocese.  The  trains  on 
all  the  railroads  entering  Vincennes  brought  numbers  of  people 
from  all  parts  of  the  state,  including  many  distinguished  public 
men.  The  citizens  of  Vincennes  attended  in  vast  numbers.  To 
prevent  confusion  persons  were  stationed  at  the  various  entrances 
of  the  cathedral  to  regulate  and  control  admission  to  it.  A  funeral 
procession  was  formed  that  escorted  the  remains  through  the  prin- 
cipal streets  from  St.  Rose's  chapel  to  the  cathedral.  The  casket 
containing  the  remains  was  carried  on  a  hearse  drawn  by  six  horses 
draped  in  mourning.  Many  distinguished  prelates  and  clergymen 
were  in  the  procession,  and  all  the  various  Catholic  societies  con- 
nected with  the  Catholic  churches  of  Vincennes,  the  orphans  from 
the  asylum  and  a  great  number  of  citizens  in  carriages  and  on  foot. 
The  procession  was  the  largest  ever  known  in  that  city. 

(89) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


The  high  mass  requiem  was  celebrated  by  Archbishop  Purcell, 
of  Cincinnati,  who  had  been  so  often  brought  within  the  venerable 
walls  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  sometimes  on  joyous  and  sometimes, 
as  in  this  case,  on  solemn  occasions.  He  was  very  properly 
assigned  this  sad  and  melancholy  duty.  Bishops  Baltes,  of  Alton; 
Foley,  of  Chicago;  Spalding,  of  Peoria;  Dwenger,  of  Fort  Wayne, 
and  over  lOO  priests  were  in  the  sanctuary  and  church.  Bishop 
Dwenger,  of  Fort  Wayne,  delivered  the  funeral  oration. 

After  the  solemn  ceremonies  were  concluded,  the  casket  con- 
taining the  remains  was  carried  by  clergymen  present  from  the 
church  to  the  basement  chapel,  and  there  deposited  in  a  vault  pre- 
pared for  them  beneath  the  sanctuary  floor  of  the  chapel,  in  front 
and  on  the  gospel  side  of  the  altar. 


(90) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

RIGHT  REV.   FRANCIS  SILAS  CHATARD,    FIFTH    BISHOP  OF  VINCENNES 

HIS      CONSECRATION,     RECEPTION    AND     INSTALLATION — TWENTY 
YEARS    OF    PROGRESS DIOCESE    OF    INDIANAPOLIS. 

THE  diocese  of  Vincennes  had  been  signally  favored  during  the 
years  intervening  between  1849  and  1877.  It  was  in  those 
twenty-eight  years  that  the  dignified  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  witnessed 
the  progress  of  the  church,  keeping  pace  with  the  passage  of  the 
years.  Each  decade  showed  an  increase  of  population,  churches 
and  priests. 

Happily,  Providence  provided  for  a  continuance  of  these  bless- 
ings by  giving  to  the  diocese  its  present  bishop,  who,  for  twenty 
years,  has  now  (1898)  been  guiding  the  ship  of  the  church  in  these 
parts  with  a  hand  made  steady  by  power  from  on  high.  With  the 
power  that  made  steady  and  sturdy  the  hand  on  the  tiller,  came, 
also,  the  divine  light  to  illuminate  the  course-way.  The  sea  was 
rough  at  times;  rocks  and  shoals  were  plenty  in  the  passage;  but 
aided  by  Him  who  "  doeth  all  things  well,"  the  voyage  has  thus 
far  been  a  prosperous  one. 

Dr.  Chatard,  a  native  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  and,  at  the  time  of 
his  appointment  to  the  see  of  Vincennes,  rector  of  the  American 
college  at  Rome,  was  divinely  chosen  through  Leo  XHI  to  con- 
tinue the  good  work  most  faithfully  prosecuted  by  his  worthy  pred- 
ecessor. He  was  consecrated  at  Rome  by  Cardinal  Franchi,  pre- 
fect of  the  Propaganda,  May  12,  1878,  and  arrived  at  Vincennes, 
Ind.,  August  II,  when  the  citizens,  without  distinction  of  creed, 
headed  by  their  committee,  received  him  with  great  distinction. 
The  mayor  of  Vincennes  was  included  in  the  committee  and  Judge 
Niblack  of  the  supreme  court  was  its  chairman.  The  address  of 
welcome  was  delivered  by  Hon.  H.  S.  Cauthorn. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Bishop  Chatard  was  duly  installed  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  of 
Cincinnati,  and  solemnized  pontifical  high-mass,  surrounded  by 
thirty-five  of  his  priests  and  in  the  presence  of  a  very  large  con- 
gregation. 

The  committee  of  priests,  consisting  of  the  Very  Rev.  A. 
Bessonies,  A.  Scheideler  and  Father  Audran,  who  had  gone  to  Cin- 
cinnati to  meet  the  bishop  and  who  had  charge  of  all  the  arrange- 
ments for  his  reception  and  installation,  acceded  to  the  wishes  of 
the  Sisters  of  Providence  to  give  the  new  bishop  a  reception  at  St. 
Mary's  of  the  Woods  Young  Ladies'  academy.  The  function  was 
performed  at  that  institution,  August  15,  on  which  occasion  a 
number  of  novices  received  the  veil,  while  others  made  their  final 
vows.  The  exercises  were  very  imposing  and  the  arrangements 
were  faithfully  carried  out. 

August  17,  Bishop  Chatard  reached  Indianapolis,  his  future 
home.  He  was  permitted  by  Rome  to  make  the  capital  of  the 
state  his  episcopal  city  while  he  retained  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Vin- 
'•cennes.*  Indianapolis  rejoiced  in  the  distinction  of  having  the  new 
bishop  take  up  his  abode  among  its  citizens;  and,  as  if  to  give 
proof  of  the  fact,  its  reception  of  Dr.  Chatard  was  most  cordial, 
generous  and  imposing.  The  governor  of  the  state,  Mr.  Williams; 
the  mayor  of  Indianapolis,  Mr.  Cavan;  the  clergy,  the  Catholic 
societies,  and  the  great  body  of  the  people  welcomed  to  their  city 
the  head  of  the  church  in  southern  Indiana. 

THE    ADDRESSES    OF    WELCOME. 

Governor  Williams  in  welcoming  the  bishop  said: 

1  feel  the  greatest  imaginable  pleasure  in  having  the  honor  of  welcoming  to 
this  state  such  a  distinguished  personage  as  the  future  bishop  of  the  diocese  of 
Vincennes.  Your  predecessor,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais,  I  knew  well. 
He  was  a  gentleman  whose  memory  still  lives,  and  will  ever  live,  in  the  minds  of 
not  only  his  people  but  the  people  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  for  the  many  kind  acts 
he  has  performed  and  the  great  work  he  has  accomplished. 


*  Even  as  long  ago  as  1878  the  increase  among  the  Catholic  people  of  Indi- 
ana impressed  the  thoughtful  with  the  notion  that  sooner  or  later  the  state  of  Indi- 
ana must  be  divided  into  three  dioceses,  the  southern  section  retaining  the  name, 
Vincennes;  the  middle  that  of  Indianapolis;  and  the  northern  its  present  name, 
Fort  Wayne. 


{M) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Mayor  Cavan's  address  was  as  follows: 

Right  Rev.  Hisliop:  .Some  lime  ago  our  people  were  informed  of  y(jur 
appointment  as  bislui]i  of  X'incciini's,  and  it  met  with  a  unanimity  and  enthusiasm 
of  approval  perliajis  without  precedeht,  and  from  that  moment  the  open  hand  and 
heart  awaited  your  coming— a  welcome  more  tenderly  told  you  in  the  warm  clasp 
and  kindly  eye,  than  in  words.  I  scarcely  feel  as  if  I  were  welcoming  a  stranger 
to-day,  but  rather  one  whom  we  have  all  known. 

You  have  won  the  confidence  and  love  of  these  people  before  you  came. 
^■ou  have  come  to  a  held  of  great  responsibility  and  labor,  but  your  toils  will  be 
lightened  and  sweetened  by  the  devoted  aid  of  your  fellow  laborers— among  them 
the  good  Father  Bessonies,who,  like  the  Master  he  professes  to  serve,  is  continually 
going  about  and  doing  good.  His  footfall  is  a  familiar  sound  in  the  homes  of 
sorrow  and  by  the  couch  of  the  dying,  while  he  points  the  bereaved  to  a  better  land 
above,  where  sorrow  never  comes  and  the  weary  are  at  rest.  Much  gratified  at 
your  selection  of  our  city  for  your  place  of  residence  and  wishing  you  long  life  and 
hajipiness  and  a  mission  of  great  usefulness,  to  the  many  welcomes  you  are  receiv- 
ing, I  wish  to  add  and  to  mingle  my  own. 

BISHOP    CHATARD's    RESPONSE. 

In  response  to  the  addresses  of  the  governor  and  the  ma3or, 
Bishop  Chatard  said: 

Although  words  are  inadequate  to  the  e.xpression  of  my  feelings  on  this 
occasion,  I  desire  to  thank  your  Excellency,  the  Governor,  for  thus  coming  to  wel- 
come me  on  the  occasion  of  my  hrst  visit  to  the  capital  of  Indiana.  In  speaking  of 
my  predecessor,  Monsignor  M.  de  St.  Palais,  as  a  devoted  Christian  and  a  benefi- 
cent citizen,  you  have  said  that  which  I  know  full  well  to  be  a  fact.  He  was  one 
who  sacrificed  name,  friends  and  much  else  that  was  dear  to  him  for  the  purpose 
of  serving  God  and  promoting  the  interests  of  the  church  in  this  diocese;  and  when 
I  remember  the  great  virtues  by  which  my  predecessor  was  distinguished,  I  feel 
almost  dismayed  in  coming  here  to  fill  his  place.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  I  count 
not  so  much  upon  my  own  abilities  as  upon  the  power  of  God  to  sustain  me,  I  know 
that  there  is  no  reason  to  be  dismayed.  I  thank  God  that  I  have  been  called  upon 
to  labor  in  the  name  of  God,  for  the  good  of  his  church;  and  let  me  add  that,  so  far 
as  I  am  able,  I  shall  always  endeavor  to  co-operate  with  the  civil  authorities  so  as 
to  make  our  jieople  better  citizens.  The  Catholic  church  always  teaches  respect 
for  the  authorities  because  it  recognizes  all  authority  as  coming  from  Almighty 
God,  and  therefore  no  one  among  our  people  that  is  not  a  good  citizen  can  be  a 
good  Catholic.  The  Catholic  church  teaches  everyone  respect  for  the  rights  of 
others,  and  it  also  teaches  its  followers  to  despise  all  those  persons  who  in  these 
days  engage  in  socialistic  and  communistic  movements.  There  are  many  persons 
who  profess  to  have  pet  theories  for  the  bettering  of  the  people  that  are  really  the 
enemies  of  society,  and  the  Catholic  church  warns  its  followers  to  beware  of  all 
such  ]iersons,  and  enjoins  them  to  stand  by  the  constituted  authorities. 

As  you  are  well  aware,  I  have  been  absent  from  this  country  a  number  of 
years,  during  which  I  have  resided  in  Rome — a  city  which  is  of  the  deepest  interest 

6  ~l95j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

to  all  classes  of  people  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Rome  offers  the  most 
abundant  facilities  to  the  scholar  and  the  theologian  to  follow  many  interestmg 
branches  of  study;  but  notwithstanding  all  this  I  have  cheerfully  left  my  home  in 
that  city,  where  I  have  lived  so  many  years,  to  come  here  and  labor  for  the  good 
of  those  who  are  committed  to  my  car©,  and  my  hope  is  that  our  lives  may  be 
spent  happily  together,  profitably  for  all  of  us,  and  for  the  interests  of   the  church. 

The  next  day,  August  i8,  Bishop  Chatard  celebrated  pontif- 
ical high  mass  at  St.  John's  pro-cathedral.  Every  seat  in  that 
spacious  edifice  was  occupied,  while  hundreds  were  obliged  to 
stand.  The  church  was  tastefully  and  beautifully  decorated. 
Around  the  sanctuary  were  blooming  oleanders,  and  from  one  of 
them  in  a  prominent  place  was  suspended  a  neat  cross  of  white 
daisies.  At  either  end  of  the  sanctuary  hung  the  American  Hag,  and 
around  the  walls  were  placed  the  papal  tiara  and  escutcheon  sur- 
rounded by  papal  and  American  liags.  The  stations  of  the  cross 
hanging  along  the  walls  of  the  cathedral  were  decorated  with 
evergreens,  and  above  them  were  hung  festoons  of  red,  white,  blue 
and  yellow. 

The  canonical  reception  of  the  new  bishop  took  place  at  the 
main  door  of  the  cathedral,  where  Very  Rev.  Aug.  Bessonies 
resigned  his  administratorship  of  the  diocese  into  the  bishop's 
hands  and  delivered  the  following  address  of  welcome  in  behalf  of 
the  priests.  That  portion  of  it  reproduced  in  Father  Alerding's 
history  from  the  press  of  the  following  day  is  here  given: 

VERY    KEV.    FATHER    BESSONJES'   ADDRESS. 

Rt.  Rev.  Bishop:  I  feel  much  honored  and  truly  happy  to  welcome  your 
lordship  to  your  new  home — to  the  city  of  Indianapolis.  You  will  find,  no  doubt,  a 
great  difference  between  the  Eternal  city  and  this  city,  the  existence  of  which  dates 
back  scarcely  half  a  century.  But  here,  as  well  as  there,  I  assure  you,  you  will  find 
loving  hearts  ready  to  appreciate  your  worth.  As  administrator  of  this  diocese, 
the  task  of  welcoming  you  has  devolved  upon  me.  Others  of  your  clergy  would 
use  words  more  eloquent  and  flowery,  but  none,  I  dare  say,  could  speak  to  you 
with  more  candor  and  sincerity.  You  are  personally  a  stranger  to  most  of  us,  and 
still  pretty  well  known  to  us  through  your  friends.  A  voice  has  been  heard  from 
the  north,  from  the  south,  from  the  east,  from  the  west,  and  even  from  across  the 
broad  Atlantic,  proclaiming  your  praises.  "  Your  bishop,"  said  to  me  a  prelate  from 
the  north,  "  is  another  St.  Francis  of  Sales."  A  bishop  from  the  south,  one  intimately 
accjuainted  with  your  lordship  for  years,  writes  to  me:  "You  have  an  admirable 
bishop,  and  one,  I  am  sure,  who  will  satisfy  the  wishes  of  all— pious,  learned,  dis- 
interested, and  full  of  zeal  for  the  interests  of  religion."  From  the  east  rises  the 
voice  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  those   angels  of  peace  who  know  you   so  well  and 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

sinj^  the  Te  Deum  on  hearing  of  your  nomination.  The  west  speaks  also,  and  irr 
n(»  less  flatterinc:  terms.  "  Father  Chatard,"  says  the  Western  Watchman,  "who  is 
appointed  bisliop  of  V^incennes,  is  a  very  elegant  and  courtly  gentlemaq,  a  man  of 
consummate  administrative  abilities,  and  a  strict  hut  considerate  disciplinarian." 
From  across  the  broad  ocean,  one  of  your  predecessors  in  the  see  of  Vincennes 
sjieaks  <»f  one  of  the  qualities  required  by  St.  Paul  for  a  bishop,  and  praises  the  hos- 
jijtality  of  the  Chatard  family,  so  generously  extended  to  him  when  attending  the 
council  of  Baltimore,  in  years  gone  by,  and  is  thankful  to  God  for  such  choice. 
He  then,  no  doubt,  gave  his  episcopal  blessing  to  the  bright  little  boy  who  was  to 
be  one  day  his  successor  in  the  see  of  Vincennes,  and  that  blessing  has  produced 
its  fruits. 

But  besides  the  flattering  testimonies  rendered  to  your  worth  by  all  those  that 
knew  you,  we  have  already  a  safer  way  to  judge  of  your  merits:  I  mean  your  first 
pastoral,  which  does  credit  to  your  head  and  heart,  and  has  made  you  hosts  of 
friends.  The  idea  of  sending  such  a  messenger  before  you  must  have  been  an 
inspiration  from  above,  and,  judging  the  tree  by  its  fruits,  we  could  not  desire  a 
better  bishop.  Your  lordship  will  be  the  proper  link  to  connect  the  past  with  the- 
future  in  this  diocese,  and  your  ashes  will  not  be  dishonored  when  they  go  to  rest 
with  those  of  the  saintly  Brute,  the  too  short-lived  good  bishop  Bazin,  and  those  of 
your  immediate  predecessor,  whose  labors  extend  over  a  period  of  forty  years  as 
priest  and  bishop,  and  whose  memory  as  the  kindest  of  prelates  is  now,  and  will,  I 
hope,  remain  in  veneration  for  all  generations  to  come. 

THE    bishop's    response. 

Bishop  Chatard,  in  response  to  Father  Bessonies'  kindly  wel- 
come, excused  himself  from  making  a  lengthy  address,  and  said: 

While  I  am  satisfied  that  your  people  have  been  devout  and  zealous  in  the 
past  it  is  no  guarantee  that  they  will  continue  so  in  the  future  unless  they  depend 
upon  God  for  His  assistance  through  the  power  of  prayer.  The  success  of  my  life 
and  yours  must  be  obtained  through  prayer.  As  regards  the  clergy,  I  know  enough 
already.  Their  reputation  has  gcjne  abroad  throughout  the  whole  country.  I  know 
them  to  be  full  of  zeal  in  disinterested  work  for  the  glory  of  God.  I  know  of  your 
schools  and  your  charities.  They  are  known  all  over  the  land.  I  know  also  the 
zeal  of  the  laity  and  how  they  show  their  zeal,  which  comes  from  the  Holy  Ghost. 
I  thank  you  again  for  your  presence  and  good  wishes,  and  would  ask  that  you 
remember  me  in  your  prayers.  I  thank  you.  Father  Bessonies,  for  your  administra- 
tion.    God  grant  you  grace  to  continue  it. 

During  the  mass  which  followed  Bishop  Chatard  delivered  his 
first  sermon  in  Indianapolis.  The  tenor  of  his  discourse  and  the 
manner  of  its  delivery  completely  won  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
both  Catholics  and  Protestants.  It  was  on  the  divine  authority  to 
teach. 

~{97) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 
KT.    RKV.     DR.     CHATARD's    SERMO>f. 

He  took  for  his  text  the  fifteenth  verse  of  the  tenth  chapter  of 
Romans*   "And  how  shall  they  preach,  unless  they  be  sent?" 

"These  words,"  he  said,  "  were  written  by  an  inspired  writer;  by  one  whom 
God  Ahnighty  had  chosen  as  his  minister  throughout  all   eternity.     Faith  implied 
belief  in  authority,  a  teaching  authority.     You  cannot  believe  a  person  who  comes 
to  you  to  speak   for  himself,  but  you  must  accept  one  who  comes  to  speak,  for 
another  with  his  authority.     If  an  officer  of  the  law  comes  to  serve  a  summons,  or 
make  an  arrest,  you  would  demand  his  credentials  and  authority,  and  having  seen 
them,  would  obey.     So,  if  a  man   comes  to  you  to  preach,  you   must  know  clearly 
whether  he  preaches  for  himself,  or  whether  he  comes  with  the  commission  of 
Christ.     In  all  ages,  where  religion  has  been  preached,  the  hearers  have  demanded 
to  see  the  credentials.      *      *      *       j  come  to-day  entering  upon  the  responsible 
duties  of  the  head  of  the  church  in  this  diocese  by  the  commission  of  the  successor 
of  St.  Peter,  the  vicar  of  Jesus  on  this  earth.     He  gives  the  credentials  and  sends 
his  ministers  forth.     The  people  want  to  know  who  he  is.     This  happiness  I  pos- 
sess, of  having  been  sent  to  you  by  the  vicar  of  Jesus.     I  now  have  the  happiness 
to  speak  from  the  lips  of  him  who  sent  me  here.     In  the  last  interview  I  had  with 
him   he  told  me  that  the  first  time  I  should  meet  you  to  speak  of  faith.     I  would 
ask  you  to  call  to  mind  that  without  faith  you  cannot  please  God;   without  faith  all 
actions  are  vain.     Faith  is   the  corner-stone  of  our  edifice  of  life.     If  you  have 
faith,  and  listen  to  Jesus  and  his  ministers,  you  will  have  all  the  means  of  leading 
happy  lives— supernatural  lives,  permeated  with  the  grace  of  God.     Those  who 
are  in  faith  with  God  are  living,  however  humble  their  station,  lives  pleasing  to 
Almighty  God.     Each  action  in  such  a  life  has  a  degree  of  merit  which  will  live 
to  eternity.     He  told  me  further  to  implore  you  to  keep  your  faith,  and  help  those 
around    you  to  keep   theirs.     Don't   expose  yourself  so  as  to  lose  faith.     If  you 
trifle,  you  may  lose.     There   are  men  and  women  who  have  lost  faith  by  hearing 
attacks  which  they  could  noli  refute.     They  were  too  weak,  too  heedless,  and  were 
lost.     The  great  majority  hold  to  their  faith  with   tenacity,  but  the  number  lost  is 
not  small.     Advance  in  every  way  Catholic  education,  not  because  we  hate  other 
religions,  but  because   it  is  our  first  and  greatest  duty  to  preserve  that  priceless 
boon — faith.     Let  us  bend  every  effort  to  preserve   our  faith,  obey  cheerfully  our 
directors  and  rulers,  who  come  in  the  name  of  Christ,  because  we  know  that  all 
authority  comes  from  on  high.     Our  weakness  will  then  be  buoyed  up,  we  shall 
become  strong,  we  shall  lay  up  treasures   for  the  real  life  which  lasts  through 
eternity.     We  will  see  all  our  good  actions  shining  like  jewels  in  our  crown." 

In  the  afternoon  the  Catholic  societies  assembled  and  formed 
a  pjocession  nearly  a  mile  in  length.  The  Irish  societies  composed 
the  first  division  and  the  German  societies  the  second.  Between 
the  divisions  were  Bishop  Chatard  and  other  clergymen  in  carriages. 

Rev.  Denis  O'Donaghue,  in  behalf  of  the  societies,  arose  in 
his  carriage  and,  in  his  own  eloquent  style,  welcomed  the  bishop 
to  the  diocese.      He  delivered  the  following  address: 

<98) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


RKV.    FATHER   (J  DON.VtiHL  K  S    ADIJRESS. 


On  the  part  of  our  Catholic  societies  and  Catholic  people,  I  have  tlie  jileasure 
and  privilege  of  extending  to  you  a  hearty  welcome  to  the  cafiital  of  Indiana.  We 
have  for  some  time  looked  for  your  coming  among  us,  and  we  are  glad  that  ycju 
are  now  here.  We  have  come  together  this  evening  to  testify  our  appreciaticjn  of 
your  high  (jualities  and  to  thank  you  for  the  favor  you  do  us  in  making  this  city 
your  permanent  home.  We  would  wish  to  know  better  how  to  receive  you  and 
how  to  honor  one  occupying  the  exalted  station  you  do,  but  we  are  sure  you  will 
ascribe  any  deficiency  m  this  regard  to  inexperience  rather  than  to  any  lack  of 
good  will  on  our  part. 

You  come  to  us  from  the  Eternal  city,  clothed  with  authority  from  the  vicar 
of  Christ,  and  as  such  we  bow  to  you  in  filial  reverence  and  obedience.  Your 
presence  in  this  important  city  will  be  productive  of  good,  not  only  to  your  own 
flock,  but  to  many  others  besides.  The  great  church  of  which  you  are  a  bishop 
will  become  better  known,  its  doctrines  will  begin  to  be  more  thoroughly  examined 
bv  a  community  that  does  not  understand  them,  and  its  teachings  will  satisfy  the 
minds  of  sincere  searchers  after  truth.  Statesmen  and  philosophers  of  this  day 
are  beginning  to  recognize  the  great  truth  that  the  Catholic  church  is  the  strongest 
conservative  element  that  human  governments  can  find  to  rely  upon.  Bilt  yester- 
day the  chancellor  of  Germany  was  ready  to  trample  on  the  church  of  his  ances- 
tors, and  thought  no  law  unjust  that  looked  to  its  overthrow;  now  this  eminent 
statesman  shows  signs  of  readiness  to  negotiate  with  the  authorities  of  Rome. 
The  stability  of  his  empire,  built  on  irreligion,  is  threatened  by  the  socialistic  ele- 
ments whom  he  has  taught  to  forget  God,  and  who  have  themselves  learned  to 
disregard  individual  rights  and  human  laws.  The  Catholic  church  here  has  a  mis- 
sion to  fulfill  equally  as  important  as  in  the  old  world.  Infidelity  is  overleaping 
the  barriers  that  held  it  in  check  in  this  land,  and  those  who  would  escape  the 
ravages  are  looking  to  the  church  as  the  only  power  to  stay  its  progress.  The  gospel 
of  Christ,  preached  by  those  whom  he  has  placed  to  rule  his  church,  w-ill  triumph  in 
this  important  conflict.  \Ve  greet  you,  IMonseigneur,  as  a  soldier  of  the  cross,  whose 
mission  is  a  mission  of  peace  and  good-will  to  all  men.  We  trust  you  will  never  find 
us"  unmindful  of  your  wise  counsel,  and  we  assure  you  that  you  will  not  have  reason 
to  regret  the  confidence  you  repose  in  us  as  dutiful  and  grateful  subjects.  Accept 
this  slight  testimonial  of  respect  which  we  wish  to  pay  you  on  this,  your  first  day 
among  us,  and  allow  us  to  indulge  the  hope  that  we  may  long  possess  the  privi- 
lege of  being  guided  by  your  good  advice  and  pious  direction.  In  the  death  of 
your  sainted  predecessor  we  lost  a  father  who  loved  us.  In  the  person  of  your- 
self, Providence  has  sent  a  successor  worthy  to  walk  in  his  footsteps.  We  promise 
that  the  respect  and  love  we  gave  him  will  be  given  to  you,  and  in  return  we  ask 
your  prayers  and  blessing  for  our  temjioral  and  eternal  welfare. 

The  bishop's  response  was  in  his  happiest  vein  and  was  along 
the  Hnes  of  the  address  of  welcome. 

The  welcoming  ceremonies  over,  Bishop  Chatard  at  once  set- 
tled down  to  the  business  of  governing  a  diocese  of  nearly  90,000 
Catholics,  having  in  it  127  priests  and    151  churches  and  missions. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

He  saw  the  great  work  he  had  to  do,  and,  humanly  regarding  it, 
he  must  have  quailed  before  it;  but,  trusting  in  help  from  on  high, 
and  in  the  power  of  prayer,  as  he  declared  in  his  sermon  and 
addresses,  he  resolutely  entered  upon  his  arduous  labors. 

Recognizing  the  need  for  a  synodical  gathering  of  his  priests, 
Bishop  Chatard  called  them  together  on  the  loth  of  the  following 
December,  1878.  This  synod,  the  first  under  the  present  bishop 
and  the  second  in  the  diocese,  met  in  St.  John's  church,  Indian- 
apolis. Of  the  127  priests  in  the  diocese,  eighty-two  were  present. 
The  following  were  in  attendance. 


Rev. 


Very 
Rev. 


H.  Alerding. 

Ernest  Audran. 

Denis  Abarth,  O.  S.  F. 

Rev.  Aug.  Bessonies,  A'.  G. 

Ferdinand  Bergmeyer,  O.  S.  F. 

Leonard  Brandt. 

Bernard  Brueggemann. 

L.  M.  S.  Burkhardt. 

Clement  J.  Conrad. 

John  B.  Chasse. 

Daniel  Curran.  , 

Francis  De  Langie. 

Januarius  M.  D'Arco. 

Aloysius  Danenhoffer. 

John  W.  Doyle. 

John  Dion. 

Joseph  Dickmann. 

John  H.  Diestel. 

William  Doyle. 

Julius  J.  Duddenhausen. 

C.  Ehson.  O.  M.  C. 

Bernard  F.vvers. 

Edward  Faller. 

Arsenius  Fahle,  O.  S.  F. 

P.  R.  Fitzpatrick. 

Joseph  Fleischmann. 

Meinrad  Fleischmann. 

John  P.  Gillig. 

John  J.  Gabriel. 

Francis  X.  Girolt. 

Mathias  A.  Gillig. 

Louis  Gueguen. 

John  Gueguen. 

Michael  Guthneck. 

Isidore  Hobi,  O.  S.  B. 

Michael  Heck. 

Ferdinand  Hundt. 

Henry  H.  Kessing. 

John  15.  Kelley. 

W.  Kemper. 

Francis  Ignatius  Klein. 


Rev.  Alexander  Koesters. 

"  T.  X.  Logan. 

"  Joseph  Lesen,  O.  M.  C. 

"  Eugene  F.  McBarron. 

"  D.  Marzetti. 

"  John  McCabe. 

"  C.  McEvoy,  O.  M.  C. 

"  Patrick  McDermott. 

"  J.  Mougin. 

"  Andrew  Michael. 

"  J.  M.  Missi. 

"  Aegid.  Merz. 

"  Denis  J.  McMullen. 

"  Joseph  Merckl. 

"  Alphonse  Munschina. 

"  Francis  M.  Mousset. 

"  Denis  O'Donovan. 

"  Timothy  O'Donaghue. 

"  D.  O'Dongahue. 

"  Leo  Osredkar.  O.  S.  F. 

"  Hippolite  Pierrard. 

"  Hugh  Peythieu. 

"  James  Pfeiffer. 

"  Frederic  \V.  Pepersack. 

"  Bartholomew  Piers. 

"  Michael  Quinlan. 

"  Francis  J.  Rudolf. 

"  \'ictor  A.  Schnell. 

"  J.  P.  Sassel. 

"  Anthony  A.  Schenk. 

"  Francis  Seegmueller. 

"  J.  B.  H.  Seepe. 

"  Caspar  Seller. 

"  H.  J.  Seibertz. 

"  Anthony  Scheideler,  V.  G. 

"  E.  J.  Spelman. 

"  Florentine  J.  Sondermann. 

"  Francis  Torbeck. 

"  Frederick  \'icfhaus. 

"  Roman  W'cinzoepfel. 

"  George  Widerin. 


(100) 


IX    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Immediately  following  the  adjournment  of  the  synod,  the 
bishop  issued  a  pastoral  letter  in  which  he  treated  on  such  topics 
as  then  were  needful  to  be  discussed,  and  on  which,  doubtless,  the 
synod  had  taken  action.  These  topics  were:  The  Church  of  God, 
The  Clergy  and  the  Laity,  The  Sacrament  of  Matrimony,  Catholic 
Schools,  Secret  Societies,  Catholic  Societies. 

The  evils  resulting  from  mixed  marriages  becoming  quite  glar- 
ing and  numerous  in  the  diocese,  the  bishop,  a  short  time  after- 
ward, found  it  necessary  to  disapprove  of  and  condemn  such  mar- 
riages. To  do  this  most  effectually,  he  issued  another  pastoral 
replete  with  instructions  to  both  priests  and  people,  especially 
exhorting  and  directing  the  former  to  see  to  it  that  purely  Cath- 
olic marriages  become  the  order — the  strict  rule — thereafter;  and 
that    mixed    marriages    be    tolerated   only    for   good   and  sufficient 

cause. 

The  Third  synod  was  held  at  St.  John's  church,  Indianapolis, 
November  30,  1880.  At  this  gathering  of  the  clergy  seventy-nine 
were  present.  The  matters  concerning  which  action  was  taken 
were  the  schools,  the  orphans  and  cemeteries. 

The  Fourth  synod  took  place,  also  at  St.  John's  church,  Indi- 
anapolis, November  9,  1886.  There  was  an  attendance  of  ninety- 
six  priests.  The  regulations  of  the  Baltimore  council  of  1884  were 
put  in  force,  and  the  division  of  the  diocese  into  seven  deaneries 
or  districts  was  effected.  The  districts  named  were  Vincennes, 
Evansville,  Cannelton,  New  Albany,  Madison,  Lawrenceburg  and 
Indianapolis.  A  dean  was  later  appointed  to  have  charge  of  each 
district;  that  of  Indianapolis  was  not  given  a  dean.  The  law  relat- 
ing to  irremovable  rectors  was  also  adopted,  and  the  following  ten 
parishes  were  named,  the  pastors  of  which  were  declared  subject 
to  the  law:  St.  Mary's,  Indianapolis;  St.  John's,  Vincennes;  St. 
Mary's,  Richmond;  St.  Andrews's,  Richmond;  St.  Simon's,  Wash- 
ington; Assumption,  Evansville;  Holy  Trinity,  Evansville;  St. 
Mary's,  New  Albany;  St.  Patrick's,  Indianapolis;  Holy  Trinity, 
New  Albany. 

The  Fifth  synod  was  held  at  St.  John's  church.  Indianapolis, 
May  3,  1 89 1.  There  were  ninety-four  priests  present.  The  busi- 
ness  attended   to   was   regarding  the    regulation    of    schools    and 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

school  books,    making  provision    for   the    maintenance   of   infirm 
priests,  and  the  estabhshment  of  rules  touching  Christian  burial. 

It  is  as  difficult  to  give  statistics  touching  the  spiritual  as  it  is 
to  photograph  a  soul.  Yet  there  are  signs  which  indicate  results 
in  this  respect,  and  which  may  be  consulted  if  we  wish  to  arrive  at 
conclusions  regarding  the  great  influence  of  the  Catholic  church 
among  its  adherents  in  the  southern  half  of.  Indiana. 

In  the  diocese  of  Vincennes,  since  the  advent  of  Bishop  Cha- 
tard,  twent}'  years  ago — 1 878-1 898 — there  have  been  but  two  public 
interruptions  of  good  order — disturbances  by  two  priests  in  paro- 
chial temporalities.  These  have  been  happily  righted,  and  the 
parties  thereto  have  submitted  to  the  governing  ecclesiastical 
authority  and  are  now  at  their  posts,  zealous  for  the  cause  of  relig- 
ion, and  are  as  warmly  regarded  by  the  authority  as  if  no  disagree- 
ment had  occurred.  This  shows  what  religion  can  accomplish, 
and  how  justice  and  mercy,  together  with  charity,  can  work  won- 
ders among  men.  While  such  troubles  are  to  be  avoided  and 
regretted,  yet,  when  properly  adjusted,  good  often  results,  since 
the  healing  process  is  an  object  lesson,  not  only  to  the  faithful^ 
but  even  to  those  not  of  the  faith. 

That  the  governing  spirit  of  the  diocese  is  of  God,  and  that  it 
has  been  alert  and  cautious  in  all  things  pertaining  to  both  the 
spiritual  and  the  temporal,  can  be  seen  in  the  increase  and  pros- 
perity which  have  marked  the  affairs  of  the  Vincennes  diocese  thus 
far.  In  the  last  twenty  years,  or  since  the  present  bishop  took 
charge,  in  1878,  there  have  been  twenty-six  new  parishes  organized, 
and  in  each  of  them  a  new  church  (and  in  many  instances  a  new 
school)  has  been  erected.  Each  of  these  parishes  has  its  resident 
priest.  The  estimated  cost  of  these  improvements  exceeds  $550,- 
000.  Beside  these,  there  have  been  ten  new  missions  established, 
and  a  church  built  in  each;  and  in  nineteen  of  the  old  parishes 
new  churches  have  been  erected,  the  cost  of  which,  including  new 
schools,  will  not  fall  far  short  of  a  half-million  dollars.  It  would 
be  safe  to  say  that  one  and  one-fourth  million  dollars  would  not 
exceed  the  amount  expended  in  making  temporal  improvements 
during  the  past  twenty  years  in  the  diocese  of  Vincennes.  The 
people  who  have  contributed  this  money,  and  the  men  who  have 


I.N    THli    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

looked  after  its  judicious  expenditure,  give  the  evidence  that  the 
spiritual  is  not  neglected,  but  fostered  and  furthered  in  connection 
with  these  temporalities.  The  temporal  is  often  an  inde.x  to  the 
spiritual. 

The  twenty-six  new  parishes  and  churches  referred  to  are 
located  or  named  as  follows: 

At  Indianapolis — St.  Bridget's,  St.  Francis,  Holy  Cross, 
Assumption,  St.  Anthony's,  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's. 

At  Evansville — St.  Boniface,  Sacred  Heart,  St.  Anthony. 

At  Terre  Haute — St.  Patrick's. 

Then  follow  those  at  Bedford;  Navilleton;  Cedar  Grove;  Clin- 
ton; Henry ville;  Sullivan;  Posey ville,  Posey  county;  Siberia,  Perry 
county;  St.  Ann's,  Jennings  county;  St.  Denis,  Decatur  county;  St. 
Joseph's  and  St.  Martin's,  Martin  county;  St.  Michael's,  Daviess 
county;  St.  Thomas,  Knox  county;  Yankeetovvn,  Warrick  county, 
and  Boonville,  in  the  same  countv. 

The  nineteen  new  churches  erected  since  1878,  in  parishes 
previously  organized,  are  located  or  named  as  follows: 

Columbus;  Connersville;  Greensburg;  Greenfield;  Hayden, 
Jennings  county;  Huntingburg,  Dubois  county;  Martinsville;  Mt. 
Vernon;  Princeton;  Rockville;  Rushville;  Morris,  Ripley  county; 
St.  Anthony,  Dubois  county;  St.  Croix,  Perry  county;  St.  John's, 
Warrick  county;  St.  Benedict's,  Terre  Haute;  Troy,  Perry  county, 
and  St.  Simon's,  Washington,  Daviess  county. 

The  ten  new  missions  and  churches  are:  Coxville,  Fontanet 
and  Rosedale,  Park  county;  St.  Michael's,  St.  Peter's,  Laconia  and 
Locust  Point,  Harrison  county;  St.  Joseph's,  Crawford  county; 
Linton,  Green  county,  and  Adyeville,  Perry  county. 

Of  the  172  priests  active  in  the  diocese  at  this  time  (1898), 
130  are  of  the  diocesan  clergy  proper,  as  distinct  from  the  mem- 
bers of  religious  orders.  Those  ordained  by  Bishop  Chatard  and 
now  laboring  in  the  diocese  are  as  follows: 

Rev.  C.  Conrad.  Rev.  F.  Roell. 

M.  Guthneck.  "  H.  Fein. 

A.  Riehle.  "  P.  Baron. 

J.  J.  Macke.                                    .  "  J.  F.  Bauer. 

A.  P'eigen.  "  J.  Hegger. 

F.  Luebbermann.  "  A.  .Schaaf. 

C.  Bilger.  "  J.  Thie. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


Rev.  C.  Schwartz. 
M.  Andres. 
C.  Curran. 
P.  Hommes. 
T.  McLaut^hlin. 
J.  Rvves.  ^ 
VVm'.  Wack. 
A.  A.  Kaelin. 
*  A.  Peckskamp. 
J.  Matthews. 
M.  Bogemann. 
J.  M.  Zoglniann. 
Geo.  Loesch. 
Theo.  Mesker. 
F.  H.  Gavisk. 
J.  A.  Urich. 
K.  Schott. 
F.  J.  Neuhoffer. 
C.  Strieker. 
J.  H.  Hillebrand. 
Jas.  Byrne. 
F.  B.  Dowd. 
J.  H.  Boersig. 
H.  Moss. 


Rev.  J.  F.  Weber. 

"  J.  F.  Stanton. 

"  J.  F.  Mattinsly. 

"  Jos.  Chartrand. 

"  Chas.  A.  Clever. 

"  Stephen  Uonohue. 

"  J.  Scheefers. 

"  \Vm.  Jochum. 

"  J.  Haskamp. 

"  L.  P'ichter. 

"  Jos.  Gerdon. 

"  J.  A.  Kohhiiann. 

"  E.  Ledvina. 

"  J.  P.  O'Connell. 

"  J.  J.  Wade. 

"  J.  Gorman. 

"  M.  Toelle. 

"  F.  X.  Unterreitmeier. 

"  Wm.  Liesen. 

"  F.  W.  Wolf. 

"  Jos.  Haas. 

"  J.  Loibl. 

"  Jos.  Schaub. 

"  E.  Ketter. 


From  information  at  hand,  and  from  careful  estimates  made 
by  Very  Rev.  Chancellor  O'Donahgue  of  the  diocese  of  Vincennes 
{in  1898)  the  following  facts  and  figures  are  of  consequunce,  since 
they  more  fully  set  forth  the  state  of  the  diocese: 

1.  Priests,  both  diocesan  and  religious,  172. 

2.  Churches,  not  including  chapels,  175. 

3.  One  diocesan  seminary,  with  thirty-three  students. 

4.  Two  Novitiates  for  religious  communities  for  men,  twenty-five  students. 

5.  Two  colleges  and  academies  for  boys,  students  200. 
•6.  Eighteen  academies  for  young  ladies,  pupils  3,000. 

7.  Ninety-seven  parochial  schools,  pupils  attending  13,934. 

8.  Two  industrial  and  reform  schools  and  one  charitable  institution. 

9.  Three  hospitals  and  two  homes  for  the  aged  poor. 

10.  Total  number  of  young  people  under  Catholic  care  in  the  diocese,  16,550. 

11.  Total  marriages  during  previous  year,  952. 

12.  Total  baptisms        "  "  "     2,657. 

13.  Total  burials  "  "  "     1,755. 

14.  Catholic  population,  liberally  estimated  at  120,000. 

15.  Total  expended    in    twenty   years,  in    making  temporal  improvements. 

81,250,000. 

Among  the  events  of  note  in  the  diocese  was  the  investing  of 
Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Aug.  Bessonies  as  domestic  prelate  to  the  Pope  by 
Bishop  Chatard,  April  28,  1884.  He  was  appointed  the  22nd  of 
the  previous  January.      Another  event  was   the  celebration  of  his 


(104) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

golden  jubilee  by  Mgr.  Bessonies  February  22,  1890.  This  grand 
old  man  of  the  diocese,  while  not  the  oldest. in  years,  is  yet  the  old- 
est in  service  as  a  priest. 

In  1887  the  golden  jubilee  of  Pope  Leo  XIII  was  grandly  cele- 
brated in  Indianapolis.  A  public  meeting  of  5,000  Catholics  was 
held  in  Tomlinson  Hall,  which  was  addressed  by  Bishop  Chatard, 
Very  Rev.  A.  Scheideler,  M.  W.  Carr  and  George  Wolf. 

In  the  spring  of  1898  the  brief  from  the  Holy  Father,  Leo 
XIII.  was  received  by  Bishop  Chatard,  granting  permission  to 
change  the  name  of  the  diocese  from  that  of  Vincennes  to  Indi- 
anapolis, entailing  all  the  legal  changes  that  must  result  as  an  effect 
of  the  brief.  It  makes  Indianapolis  not  only  an  episcopal  city, 
but  also  the  see  city  and  seat  of  the  ecclesiastical  authority  for 
the  diocese.  It  also  empowers  the  erection  of  a  cathedral,  which 
long-expected  work  will  be  undertaken  in  the  near  future.  The 
issuance  of  the  brief  referred  to  is  the  latest  event  of  importance  in 
the  history  of  the  former  diocese  of  Vincennes  and  the  present 
diocese  of  Indianapolis. 

The  following  letter  announcing  the  change  in  the  title  of  the 
•diocese  was  addressed  to  the  priests  by  Bishop  Chatard: 

Reverend  Sir:  A  brief  from  the  holy  see,  bearing  date  March  28,  1898, 
for  reasons  approved  of  by  his  HoUness,  and  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati  and  of  all  the  right  reverend  bishops  of  this  province, 
changes  the  title  of  the  diocese  of  \'incennes  to  that  of  the  diocese  of  Indianapolis. 
We  notify  your  reverence  of  this  act  for  all  legal  effects  following  from  it,  and 
that  all  communicatians  to  the  ordinary  of  the  diocese  may  be  so  addressed. 

.     '  FRANCIS  SILAS, 

Indianapolis,  Ind.,  April  30,  1898.  -  Bishop  of  Indianapolis. 


(105) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SKETCH  OF  RT.    REV.    FRANCIS  SILAS  CHATARD,    FIFTH  BISHOP  OF   THE 

DIOCESE  OF    VINCENNES,   NOW  THE    DIOCESE   OF    INDIANAPOLIS 

HIS  FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER  SENT  FROM  ROME. 

THE  fifth  and  present  bishop  of  Vincennes,  now  the  diocese  of 
Indianapolis,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  December  13, 
1834.  Following  the  example  of  two  generations  of  his  family, 
he  became  a  doctor  of  medicine,  and  after  graduation,  in  1853,  he 
practiced  for  two  years  in  the  Baltimore  infirmary  attached  to  the 
university,  and  in  the  city  alms-house  hospital  as  one  of  the  resi- 
dent physicians. 

Without  becoming  dissatisfied  with  the  medical  profession 
as  a  profession,  or  losing  to  any  degree  his  love  for  it  as  a 
science,  he  forsook  the  calling  to  devote  himself  to  a  higher 
one.  He  felt  himself  called  to  the  ministry  that  concerns  itself 
about  the  soul  rather  than  the  body,  and  he  forthwith  applied  to 
Archbishop  Kenrick,  then  of  Baltimore,  to  be  permitted  to  proceed 
regularly  in  obedience  to  the  "kindly  light"  that  would  lead 
him  on. 

Having  graduated  in  the  classics  from  Mount  St.  Mary's  college 
before  he  began  his  medical  studies,  he  was  therefore  well  prepared 
to  begin  his  divinity  studies,  to  complete  which  Archbishop  Ken- 
rick sent  him  to  the  Urban  college  of  the  Propaganda,  at  Rome, 
Italy.  During  six  years  he  applied  himself  assiduously  to  the  study 
of  philosophy  and  theology,  and  in  1863,  after  a  rigid  public  exam- 
ination, he  won  and  received  the  title  of  doctor  of  divinity. 
Shortly  afterward  he  was  appointed  to  the  vice-rectorship  of  the 
American  college  at  Rome,  which  position  beheld  until  1868  when 
he  became  rector  of  that  famous  institution. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

For  ten  jears  Dr.  Chatard  presided  over  the  American 
college  as  its  rector,  concerning  himself,  not  alone  about  its 
sphere  as  an  educational  institution,  but  also  about  its  finances, 
which,  owing  to  multiplied  demands,  stood  much  in  need  of  atten- 
tion. On  account  of  failing  health  his  physician  recommended  a 
■change  of  chmate.  This  change  was  had  by  making  a  visit  to  his 
native  land.  While  thus  recuperating.  Dr.  Chatard,  by  authority  of 
Pope  Pius  IX,  made  appeals  to  the  American  bishops  in  behalf  of 
his  college.  He  was  gratified  with  the  responses  he  received  and 
was  thereby  enabled  to  relieve  the  institution  from  embarrassments 
occasioned  by  insufficient  revenue. 

Dr.  Chatard's  remarkable  success  in  managing  the  American 
college  attracted  the  attention,  not  only  of  the  bishops  of  his 
native  land,  but  also  and  especially  that  of  the  Pope,  who  gra- 
ciously recognized  him  on  all  occasions,  and  signally  honored  him 
when  opportunity  offered.  Besides  presenting  him  with  a  large- 
sized  gold  medal  of  exquisite  design  and  finish  as  a  token  of 
approval,  and  of  his  own  personal  regard,  he  further  'honored  him 
by  appointing  him  one  of  the  chamberlains  at  the  papal  court, 
giving  him  authority  to  arrange  for  all  audiences  for  Americans 
with  the  Pope.  The  conferring  of  these  distinctions  was  followed 
byhis  appointment  as  bishop  of  Vincennes,  which  occurred  (1878) 
while  he  was  in  the  United  States  in  the  interests  of  the  American 
college. 

These  facts  and  this  outline  of  the  career  of  Dr.  Chatard  are 
an  index  to  the  ability  and  character  of  the  man.  while  they  serve 
at  the  same  time  to  indicate  the  things  upon  which  his  ripe  scholar- 
ship is  based.  Besides  the  advantage  of  six  years  of  training  as  a 
student  in  the  Urban  college,  he  has  had  fourteen  years  of  experi- 
■ence  in  conducting  the  American  college,  and  also  the  opportunity 
of  consulting  the  Vatican  library  and  the  rich  archives  of  St.  Peter's 
church.  Mingling  with  the  greatest  men  of  his  day,  many  of  whom 
he  met  during  the  Vatican  council,  and  having  learned,  by  obser- 
vation and  contact,  the  things  essential  to  the  administration,  both 
spiritual  and  temporal,  of  the  greatest  institution  in  the  world,  the 
■Catholic  church,  he  found  himself  thoroughly  equipped  to  govern 
the  diocese  of  which  he  was  appointed  bishop. 

"(107) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Always  a  diligent  and  patient  student,  and  from  his  acquaint- 
ance with  books,  knowing  where  to  look  for  the  widest  informa- 
tion on  nearly  all  questions;  appreciating  knowledge  both  for  its 
own  sake  as  well  as  for  the  good  uses  to  which  he  invariably  finds 
occasion  to  devote  it,  Bishop  Chatard  stands  forth  a  man  whose 
mind  is  well  stored  with  the  ripe  fruits  of  more  than  fifty  years  of 
earnest  inquiry  and  study.  A  doctor  in  divinity  as  well  as  in  medi- 
cine; a  philosopher,  and  a  scientist  of  no  mean  attainments;  a  stu- 
dent of  human  nature  and  a  master  in  sacred  science;  a  fluent 
speaker;  a  profound  thinker;  a  linguist  of  note,  and  a  writer  of 
elegance  and  force,  he  combines  grandeur  of  soul  with  superiority 
of  intellect. 

By  nature  Bishop  Chatard  is  a  dignified  man.  With  dignity 
he  possesses  force  and  decision  of  character.  As  a  man  among 
men  his  distinguished  personality  and  great  learning  render  him 
eminent.  The  high  office  of  bishop  loses  nothing  by  his  filling  it, 
nor  would  a  higher  be  unbecoming  to  him.  Religion  with  him  is  a 
reality — a  fact,  not  a  sentiment.  It  is  a  business — the  most  seri- 
ous business  of  his  life.  It  implies  obligation,  and  obligation  ful- 
filled is  duty  done.  While  serious  almost  to  the  point  of  severity 
in  dealing  with  grave  matters,  and  resolutely  fixed  in  his  rulings 
where  new  information  to  the  contrary  is  not  forthcoming,  he  yet 
manifests  a  patience  so  christian,  a  tolerance  so  remarkable,  and  a 
gentleness  of  character  so  peculiarly  his  own  that  no  one  has  ever 
mistaken  them  for  mere  yielding  or  weakness.  Firmness,  force  of 
character,  great  executive  ability,  rare  culture,  refinement  and 
charm  of  manner  are  elements  so  notable  in  the  personality  of  Dr. 
Chatard  that  even  those  who  know  him  best  find  it  difficult  to  say 
which  one  is  the  most  prominent.  The  fact  is,  each  is  superlative 
when  occasion  calls. 

While  all  may  not  love  Bishop  Chatard,  since  all  are  not  equal 
to  understanding  or  compassing  either  him  or  his  official  acts,  there 
is  yet  to  be  found  any  one  who  does  not  respect,  admire  and  revere 
him  both  as  a  man  and  as  a  christian  bishop. 

During  the  twenty  years  which  Bishop  Chatard  has  ruled  as 
head  of  the  church  in  the  diocese  of  Indianapolis,  his  spiritual 
zeal   and   his  great   mental    vigor,    backed    by    a    healthy    body,. 

(TOST 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

inclined  and  enabled  him  to  both  speak  and  write  much  in  his 
capacity  of  bishop,  and  along  lines  purely  spiritual.  He  began 
his  career  as  bishop  by  addressing  a  pastoral  letter  to  his  diocese, 
dated  at  Rome  and  written  immediately  after  his  consecration. 
That  letter  has  been  esteemed  as  among  the  ablest  of  modern 
times,  connecting  our  day  with  the  times  of  the  early  fathers  and 
the  immediate  successors  of  the  apostles. 

His  discourses,  too — his  sermons — have  been  replete  with 
profound  thought,  apt  in  application  to  times  and  occasions,  and 
happy  in  arrangement  of  the  matter.  That  one  delivered  on  the 
occasion  of  the  re-entombment  of  the  remains  of  Bishop  Hailan- 
diere  was  of  such  rare  merit  that  the  desire  of  Archbishop  Elder, 
of  Cincinnati,  to  have  it  published  in  pamphlet  form  was  carried 
out.  All  of  Bishop  Chatard's  lectures  are  rich  in  thought.  While 
excellence  in  arrangement  and  choice  of  language  as  to  fitness  and 
force  are  always  in  evidence,  yet  it  can  be  seen  that  thought  is 
invariably  given  first  place.  It  can  therefore  be  said  of  Dr.  Cha- 
tard  that,  when  he  speaks,  he  says  something. 

In  giving  some  extracts  from  a  few  of  his  lectures  and  dis- 
courses, we  will  begin  with  his  first  pastoral,  which,  because  of  its 
importance  as  well  as  because  of  its  being  his  first,  and,  besides 
being  sent  from  Rome  in  advance  of  his  coming,  has  special  claims 
upon  space  in  a  history  of  the  diocese.      It  is  as  follows: 

BISHOP   chatard's    FIRST    PASTORAL. 

Francis  Silas,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  favor  of  the  Apostolic  See,  Bishop 
of  Vincennes,  to  his  clergy  and  people,  health  and  life  everlasting  from  the  Lord: 

Raised  by  the  voice  of  our  Chief  Pastor  to  the  see  of  Vincennes,  it  has 
seemed  to  us  most  fitting,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  to  follow  the  custom  of  those 
bishops,  who  receive  episcopal  consecration  in  the  Holy  city,  and  address  you  in  a 
few  words,  as  a  pledge  of  that  charity  of  Christ  which  tills  us  with  zeal  for  your 
welfare;  and  as  a  means  also  of  recalling  efficaciously  those  counsels  that  regard 
the  direction  of  your  life,  the  prosperity  of  our  church,  and  the  diffusion  of  our 
holy  religion. 

We  set  about  this  very  useful  work  all  the  more  willingly,  because  we  have 
before  our  eyes  the  lives  and  actions  of  our  predecessors  of  most  worthv  memory. 
In  them  was  to  be  seen  a  remarkable  zeal  for  souls.  They  belonged  to  that 
chosen  band  of  apostles  who,  following  the  footsteps  of  the  saints,  left  home,  rela- 
tives, their  native  land,  that  they  might  bring  the  Catholic  faith  into  our  beloved 
country;  that  they  might  reveal  the  light  of  truth  to  our  people;  that  they  might 
teach  the  sound  principles  of  right  living;  that  they  might  be  to  us,  God  so  dispos- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ing  and  aiding,  an  example.  We  certainly  owe  to  these  men,  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  a  debt  of  gratitude  and  of  special  honor.  They  were  your  fathers  in  the 
faith;  they  begot  you  in  the  word  of  truth;  and,  for  the  sake  of  you  all,  abandon- 
ing the  comfortsrof  life,  they  laid,  in  the  midst  of  every  kind  of  trial  and  sorrow 
and  trouble,  the  foundations  of  this  church,  which  has  grown  so  much  and  spread 
so  widely.  We  say  nothing  of  that  remarkable  example  of  piety,  Simon  Gabriel 
Brute,  first  Bishop  of  \'incennes,  whose  memory  is  in  benediction  with  you.  We 
say  nothing  of  the  other  bishops,  whose  virtues  are  well  known  to  you.  We  shall 
speak  of  him  who,  lately  your  bishop,  has  been  called  to  receive  his  reward, 
Maurice  de  St.  Palais.  He  was  indeed  a  man  distinguished  for  the  qualities  of 
his  mind  and  heart,  full  of  dignity  of  life,  noble  of  birth,  and  nobler  still  by  reason 
of  his  virtues.  He  ruled  this  church  of  \'incennes  for  nearly  thirty  years.  Under 
his  guidance  it  flourished  always,  grew  steadily,  and  by  his  prudence  and  wisdom 
was  preserved  from  whatever  might  have  troubled  the  peace, of  his  people.  So 
great  a  blessing  did  this  pastor  merit  for  his  flock,  that  the  diocese  of  Vincennes 
may  well  be  held  as  a  model  to  others. 

These  examples,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  we  willingly  confess,  are  to  us  a 
source  of  diffidence  and  of  strength;  of  diffidence,  w-hen  we  look  at  our  own  lowli- 
ness; of  strength,  because  they  are  a  stimulus  to  us  to  imitate  what  our  predeces- 
sors did  in  so  praiseworthy  a  manner,  not  trusting  to  ourselves,  by  relying  on  that 
Divine  assistance  which  was  always  with  them  and  completed  their  labors. 

What  was  it,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  caused  them  and  others,  distin- 
guished for  wealth  and  birth,  and  generous  hospitality,  to  leave  their  country? 
What  else  but  faith?  They  understood  well  the  value  of  this  heavenly  gift;  and 
that  they  might  bestow  on  others  this  gift,  valuable  far  beyond  gold  and  gems  and 
every  earthly  treasure,  they  offered  themselves  a  sacrifice — nay,  a  holocaust  to 
God.  And  if  they  so  prized  this  priceless  boon,  we  certainly  are  not  to  think 
lightly  of  it.  Although,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  it  is  now  common  to  many  of  our 
people,  its  value  is  certainly  not  diminished.  In  fact,  the  very  sight  of  its  fruits 
among  us  must  make  us  esteem  it  still  more.  And  that  we  may  have  this  greater 
appreciation  of  it,  permit  us  for  a  moment  to  speak  of  it;  for  we  do  not,  perhaps, 
sufficiently  consider  its  nature.  Faith,  so  speaks  the  sacred  council  of  Trent,  is 
the  root  of  justification;  without  it,  says  St.  Paul,  it  is  impossible  to  please  God; 
Heb.  xi,  ().  As  the  root  is  first  with  regard  to  the  tree,  so  faith  is  first  with  regard 
to  supernatural  life.  As  no  tree  comes  up  from  the  ground  unless  the  seed  be  first 
planted,  so  unless  this  seed  of  faith  be  first  sown  into  the  soul  there  is  no  spiritual, 
no  supernatural  life.  Nay,  the  very  first  longings  and  tendencies  toward  God,  to 
embrace  the  teachings  of  Christ,  have  their  origin  from  God.  -So  spoke  St.  Augus- 
tin;  for  when,  thinking  of  this  great  gift  of  faith,  he  attributed  to  nature  these  first 
movements  of  the  heart  toward  God,  he  came  upon  the  words  of  St.  Cyprian, 
commenting  the  text  of  St.  Paul:  "  What  hast  thou  that  thou  had  not  received  ;  " 
I  Cor.  iv,  V.  7.  Enlightened  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  understood  forthwith  that 
he  had  erred,  taking  credit  to  himself  and  not  giving  thanks  to  the  Almighty.  This 
error  he  confessed  ingenuously,  and  to  the  edification  of  all.*  The  same  truth  was 
taught  by  the  second  council  of  Orange,  in  the  sixth  century;  and  the  very  words 
of  St.  Augustin,  used  by  this  council,  the  venerable  council  of    Trent  adopted. 

*  Lib.  de  Praedestinatione,  ss.  c.  3. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Vi)U  Sfc,  therefore,  deiirly  lieloved  liretliren,  Iidvv  ardently  G(k1  has  loved  us,  taking 
pity  on  our  poverty,  giving  to  us  the  principle  of  life  everlasting,  and  bestowing 
on  us  the  adoption  of  sonshipl  For  it  is  l)y  this  gift  of  faith  that  we  are  called  and 
are  the  sons  of  God. 

Such  being  the  case,  dearly  beloved,  we  have,  in  consecjuence,  a  two-fold 
duty;  a  duty  of  preserving  this  faith  for  ourselves  and  those  under  our  charge,  and 
a  duty  of  spreading  this  faith  among  those  who  are  outside  the  unity  of  the  church. 
And  first,  with  regard  to  our  duty  of  preserving  the  faith  for  ourselves,  and  for 
those  dejiending  on  us,  we  are  to  study-  the  means  suitable  for  that  end.  The 
words  of  Christ  to  his  apostles  and  those  to  his  disciples  immediately  occur  to  us: 
"Go  teach  all  nations,"  Matt,  xxviii,  19;  and  "  Who  hears  you  hears  me,"  Luke  x, 
16.  In  this  obedience,  in  this  jiious  disj>osition  to  believe,  whereby  we  heed  the 
voice  of  our  Pastor,  and  follow  hnn,  the  security  of  our  faith  is  founded.  This  is 
no  difficult  task  for  us;  for  you  know  well,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  our  Lord 
gave  explicitly  to  the  Apostle  Peter  the  office  of  teaching,  when,  in  the  presence  of 
the  other  apostles,  he  said:  "  I  have  prayed  for  thee  that  thy  faith  fail  not."  *  *  * 
"  Confirm  thy  brethren,"  Luke  xxii,  32.  From  these  words  it  is  clear  that  Peter 
and  his  successors  had  [)ower  to  teach  to  the  end  of  the  world;  that  we  have  imposed 
on  us  a  duty  of  obeying;  and  that  Peter  and  his  successors  perform  their  ofifice 
when  teaching  the  whole  church,  without  danger  of  error.  The  Angelic  Doctor,  St. 
Thomas  Aquinas,  understood  this  well;  for  he  wrote,  commenting  on  the  above 
words:  "The  faith  of  the  church  cannot  fail,  since  the  Lord  said  to  Peter,  I  have 
jjrayed  for  thee  that  thy  faith  fail  not,"  Qa.  Qae.  Quaest,  II,art.  vi.  The  tEcumenical 
council  of  the  Vatican  confirmed,  by  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  this  doctrine, 
defining  the  infallibility  of  the  sovereign  Pontiff.  This  teaching  was  not  new, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  entirely  consistent  with  the  principles  of  the  first  ages  of  Chris- 
tianity. We  shall  say  nothing  of  the  words  of  Pope  St.  Clement,  writing  to  the  Cor- 
inthians in  danger  of  schism,  St.  John,  the  apostle,  being  still  alive,  and  telling  them 
they  were  to  observe  what  he  had  prescribed  for  them  in  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  shall 
say  nothing  of  what  St.  Cyprian  writes,  speaking  of  the  unity  of  the  church.  The 
beginning  is  from  unity,  and  the  primacy  is  given  to  Peter,  that  the  church  may 
be  shown  to  be  one.  We  shall  even  omit  speaking  of  the  remarkable  passage  of 
St.  Augustin  to  the  Pilgrims:  "The  acts  of  two  councils  have  been  sent  to  Rome; 
thence  the  answers  have  come;  the  matter  is  at  an  end;  would  that  once  for  all 
error  would  cease."  Nor  shall  we  delay  in  speaking  of  the  letter  of  St.  Jerome  to 
Pope  Damasus,  where  this  holy  and  most  learned  man,  of  sublime  intellect,  and 
well  acquainted  with  almost  all  the  churches  of  his  day,  distinctly  writes:  "I,  fol- 
lowing as  first  no  one  but  jChrist,  am  joined  in  communion  with  your  holiness,  that 
is,  with  the  cathedra  of  Peter;  I  know  the  church  is  built  on  that  rock.  Whosoever 
eats  the  lamb  outside  of  this  house  is  profane.  *  *  *  Whosoever  does  not 
gather  with  thee,  scattereth;  that  is,  whosoever  is  not  of  Christ  belongs  to  anti- 
Christ."  We  shall  pass  over  all  these.  Two  facts  only  shall  we  mention  as  briefly 
as  possible. 

The  Christians  of  the  Pentaj)olis  appealed  from  the  patriarch  of  Alexandria  or 
Dionysius,  that  is  from  the  bishops  of  the  chief  church  of  Egypt  founded  by  St. 
Mark  the  Evangelist.  To  whom  did  they  appeal?  To  the  Roman  pontiff  of  the 
same  name,  St.  Dionysius,  and  this  is  a  matter  of  faith.  Pope  St.  Dionysius,  in  the 
discharge  of   his   supreme  duty,  informed   the   patriarch   of  the   accusation    laid 

7  ~(Trr) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

against  him,  and  after  receiving  his  exculpation,  declared  him  not  guilty.  Having 
heard  the  sentence  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  these  Christians  of  the  third  century 
withdrew  their  charges  and  obeyed  the  patriarch. 

At  the  same  time  the  faithful  of  Rome  were  establishing  their  cemeteries  and 
ornamentmg  them  with  sacred  symbols.  Nothing  is  to  be  seen  more  frequently  in 
these  catacombs  than  the  figure  of  a  man  striking  a  rock  with  a  rod,  and  water 
gushing  out  from  the  rock.  What  is  this  figure?  Certainly  not  Christ,  who  is,  as 
St.  Paul  says,  the  rock  struck  with  the  rod;  "the  rock  was  Christ."  Nor  is  it 
Moses,  save  as  a  figure,  for  Moses  belongs  to  the  old  dispensation.  There  remains 
the  antitype  Peter,  of  whom  this  is  in  reality  the  image;  for  there  have  been  found 
in  these  cemeteries  paintings  on  glass,  representing  a  man  with  a  rod  striking  a 
rock,  from  which  water  flows,  and  over  the  head  of  the  man  they  have  the  name 
"  Petrus."  These  Christians  of  the  Roman  church  thought  that  Peter  in  the  New 
Law  held  the  place  of  Moses  in  the  Old  Dispensation.  Nor  did  the  Romans  only 
so  judge,  for  that  old  writer  of  the  church  of  Syria,  St.  Ephrem,  m  his  sermon  on 
the  Transfiguration  of  our  Lord,  making  a  comparison  between  Moses,  who  was 
speaking  with  Christ  and  St.  Peter,  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  Moses  was  the 
economus,  or  administrator  of  the  Father,  while  Peter  is  the  procurator,  or  agent, 
of  the  Son,  even  of  God. 

It  becomes  us,  therefore,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  to  have  the  spirit  of  these 
early  Christians,  and  to  cherish  it.  Let  us  not  like  wanton  children  refuse  to 
harken  to  the  voice  of  our  Father  and  teacher;  let  us  not,  with  mdocility  and  rebel- 
lious m^nd,  look  with  suspicion  on  the  acts  of  our  Supreme  Pastor;  let  us  not,  elated 
by  the  pride  of  self-conceit,  put  ourselves,  as  it  were,  on  our  guard  against  our 
Father,  as  against  an  enemy.  Let  us,  the  rather,  as  children  filled  with  reverence, 
respect  his  voice,  if  possible  anticipating  his  wishes,  wit^i  that  dispostion  which  is  a 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  from  whom  it  comes,  that  we  dwell  together  of  one  mind, 
in  our  Father's  house.  Whoever  has  such  a  disposition  will  never  be  cause  of 
grief  or  sadness  to  our  holy  mother,  the  church. 

But  the  faith  is,  moreover,  to  be  kept  inviolate  for  those  who  depend  on  us,  for 
the  children,  the  hope  of  the  church,  whose  minds,  in  their  tender  years,  receive, 
like  soft  wax,  every  impression.  How  is  the  faith  to  be  preserved  for  them,  save 
by  Catholic  education?  If  you  wish  your  children  to  be  truly  Catholics,  you  must 
neglect  nothing  that  may  guard  them  against  the  pestiferous  spirit  of  unbelief  and 
the  contagion  of  bad  example.  The  learned  Cardinal  Paliavicini,  in  his  history  of 
the  council  of  Trent,  wisely  observes,  that  citizens  are  what  their  education  makes 
them.  A  most  true  remaik.  For  experience  teaches  that,  at  least,  ordinarily 
speaking,  men  receive  in  their  earliest  years  the  impulse  that  rules  and  directs 
their  whole  life.  Thus,  Catholic  education  brings  with  it  a  two-fold  advantage: 
while  it  imbues  youth  with  sound  Catholic  doctrine,  it  also  makes  them  good  cit- 
izens— a  most  desirable  thing  in  this  republic  of  ours,  inasmuch  as  this  form  of 
government  allows  the  greatest  liberty — license,  in  fact,  whence  there  arises  danger 
to  the  safety  of  the  country.  For  if  "  the  throne  is  made  strong  by  justice,"  Prov. 
xvi'  12,  by  injustice  and  by  vice  government  is  overthrown.  Religion,  education 
of  youth,  is  therefore  the  more  necessary,  the  freer  is  the  form  of  government;  lest, 
owing  to  neglect  of  education  of  this  sort,  the  whole  edifice  of  the  state,  under- 
mined by  vice,  crumbles  to  pieces.  But  while  we  speak  of  the  citizenship  of  this 
world  we  must   not  forget,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  we  have  here  no  perma- 

(Tl2r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

nent  citizenship,  but  look  for  aiU)llic;r.  For  we  are  fellow-citizens  of  the  Saints,  and 
of  the  household  of  God.  Our  true  country  is  heaven,  where  an  unending  life 
awaits  us.  We  arc-  to  Ix-  citizens  of  that  country,  and  of  the  citizens  of  that  coun- 
try it  is  more  truly  to  be  said,  they  are  what  th<-ir  education  made  them.  Lift  up 
your  eyes  on  high;  see  the  saints  who  reign  with  God,  and  give  such  an  education 
to  your  children  as  will  render  them  worthy  of  their  company.  We  acknowledge, 
dearly  beloved,  that  we,  reading  of  our  diocese,  we  have  had  no  greater  consola- 
tion than  what  was  derived  from  the  fact  of  so  many  children  of  both  sexes  receiv- 
ing a  sound  Catholic  education.  We  thank  God  for  this,  and  we  delight  in  prais- 
ing the  provident  care  of  our  illustrious  i)redecessors,  and  the  zeal  of  those  engaged 
in  teaching.  Moreover,  that  you  may  know  how  acceptable  to  us  is  this  exem- 
plary assiduity  in  the  attendance  in  the  schools,  and  of  those  who  direct  them,  we 
have  asked  the  sovereign  |)ontiff,  Pope  Leo  Xlll,  his  apostolic  benediction  for  all 
those  who  have  in  any  way  interested  themselves  m  these  schools,  as  well  as  for 
the  scholars,  and  tliis  blessing  the  vicar  of  Christ  has  given  with  marks  of  special 
commendation. 

What  we  have  written  above,  dearly  beloved   brethren,  regards  you  who  are 
certainly  our  cliief  care.      We  are  not,  however,  to  neglect  those  who  have  not  yet 
tasted  of  the  gift  of  God,  but  whom  we  embrace   in  christian   charitv,  and  whom 
l)oth  you  and  we  earnestly  desire  to  see  belonging  to  the  flock   of  Christ.     Were- 
anything  needed  to  kindle  your  zeal  for  these  souls,  it  would  be  enough  to  think  of 
their  condition.     We  shall  say  nothing  of  those  who  have  once  doubted,  and  who- 
refuse  to  heed  the  voice  of  conscience;  they  resist  the  Holy  Spirit.     We  speak  of 
those  who  in  good  faith  have  followed  non-Catholic  tenets,  and  belong  to  various 
sects.     These  are  the  larger  portion  of  the  people  within  the  limits  of  our  diocese. 
If  any  one  should  say  that  the  people  of  the  United  States,  because  of  their  innum- 
erable religious  divisions  and  of  the  ease  with  which  anyone  endowed  with  talent 
and  elocjuence  can  find  hearers,  are  light  and  by  no  means  zealous  of  religion,  he 
would  be  wide  of  the  mark.     It  is  far  otherwise.     Since  the  principle  of  private 
judgment  has  logically  wrought  its  result,  it  is  only  consistent  that  each  one  should 
al)ound  in  his  own  view,  should  reject  authority  in  matters  of  faith,  and  follow   his. 
opinion.     That  hearers  are  so  numerous  is  a  proof  of  the  desire  in  each  one  tO' 
know  religious  truth  and  embrace  it.     We  are  to  have  this  steadilybefore  our  eyes. 
For  when  we  recall  to  mind  this  fact,  we  shall  more  easily  bear  with  our  non-Cath- 
olic brethren,  even  acting  against  us,  knowing  that  they  are  acting  according  to 
conscience,  since  they  think  they  aredomga  service  to  God.     With  that  good  faith 
which  has  been  brought  about  in  them  by  early  education,  and  by  circumstances 
of  life,  we  shall  abstain  from  all  bitterness  and   curb  our  tongue    lest    it  speak 
harshly.    Nay,  more:  Moved  by  charity  and  mercy  for  them,  we  shall  do  all  we  cart 
to  have  them  come  into  fold.     We  should  be  urged  to  this,  especially  by  the  con- 
sideration of  the  state  of  those  even  who  have  been  rightly  baptized,  and  are  still 
outside  the  church  in  the  fullness  of  their  good  faith.     They  are  all,  in  fact,  in  real 
danger  of  losing  their  souls.     Though  it  may  sometimes  happen  that  non-Catholics 
live  so  justly  as  not  to  have  lost  the  first  grace  of  baptism,  it  would  be  rash  to  say 
that  this  is  of  conmion  occurrence.     For  if  those  who  are  in   the  church  must  not 
unfrequently  accuse  themselves  of  sin,  what  is  to  be  said  of  those  who  have   not 
the  means  of  salvation  instituted   by  Christ?     Non-Catholics  have  not  the    Holy 
Tribunal   of  Penance  for  the  remission  of  sin  committed  after  baptism;  they  have 

~1M) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

not  the  Sacrament  of  the  body  of  the  Lord,  whence  Hfe  is  given  us;  they  have  not 
the  sacramentals,  indulgences,  and  those  other  beautiful  practices  that  reveal  to  us 
the  love  of  the  heart  of  Jesus,  and  through  which  our  exile  on  earth  receives  help 
and  consolation.  Being  without  these  aids,  they  can  be  saved  only  by  extraordi- 
nary means.  No  one,  however,  has  a  right  to  extraordinary  means,  for  God  has 
not  promised  them;  how  rash,  therefore,  it  is  to  look  for  them,  there  is  none  who 
may  not  understand. 

We,  who  have  received  the  light,  must,  therefore,  come  to  the  assistance  of 
these  our  brethren;  we  must  embrace  them  in  the  bowels  of  the  charity  of  Christ; 
we  must  bear  with  them  even  when  rising  up  against  us;  in  hue,  we  must  do  all 
things  to  them,  as  St.  Paul  says,  to  gain  them  for  Christ.  To  succeed  in  this  there 
is  certainly  nothing  better  adapted  than  they  should  see  in  us  an  example  of  vir- 
tue. The  heathen  used  to  say  of  the  early  Christians,  as  you  are  aware,  "behold! 
how  they  love  one  another!"  If  those  who  are  outside  the  church  will  have  seen 
always  in  us  christian  charity,  brotherly  love,  unity  of  mind,  freedom  from  all  party 
spirit,  there  is  no  doubt  but  they  will  begin  to  admire  our  faith,  then  love  it,  and 
finally  be  induced  to  embrace  it. 

To  example  must  be  joined  instruction  in  the  faith.  Not  to  everyone  does 
this  office  belong.  To  you  it  pertains,  priests  of  God,  on  whom  God  has  bestowed 
His  .Spirit,  giving  increase  to  the  seed  planted  by  you.  Not  only  are  you  to  instruct 
those  that  belong  to  us;  but  on  fitting  occasions  we  must  zealously  care  for  those 
without  the  church,  explaining  clearly  those  points  of  revelations  that  may 
•enlighten  them,  and  show  them  the  way  of  salvation.  In  the  discharge  of  this  duty, 
you  well  understand  how  important  it  is  to  abstain  from  all  censure,  and  from 
every  word  that  may  in  any  manner  irritate.  Let  everything  be  done  under  the 
guidance  of  charity,  and  the  blessing  of  God  will  descend  upon  your  work  and 
make  it  profitable  unto  eternal  life  for  yourself  and  for  others. 

In  reading  over  the  list  of  churches,  of  religious  houses,  of  the  regular  clergy 
and  of  the  virgins  consecrated  to  God,  as  well  as  of  other  institutions  of  christian 
■charity  in  our  diocese,  we  are  struck  with  the  fact  that  so  many  important  works 
•could  have  been  completed  in  so  short  a  time.  We  are  not  ignorant,  dearly 
beloved  brethren,  of  the  great  sacrifices  you  were  obliged  to  undergo  before  effect- 
mg  so  much.  These  churches  and  institutions  reflect  honor  on  you  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  in  the  sight  of  men.  Posterity  will  call  this  century  the  golden  age  of 
our  church  in  America.  But  not  for  all  this  are  we  to  rest;  much  yet  remains  to 
be  done.  As  long  as  one  remains  who  is  not  of  the  fold,  we  labor.  In  a  special 
manner  must  we  sedulously  and  earnestly  direct  our  energies  that  the  little  ones 
of  the  flock  do  not  perish  through  neglect  on  our  part.  All  this  imposes  on  us  a 
very  heavy  burden;  but  we  must  bear  it  manfully.  Do  not  give  with  regret  of  your 
■earthly  substance,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  for  purposes  so  acceptable  to 
Almighty  God.  For  those  gifts  of  this  world,  he  who  is  the  giver  of  all  good  gifts 
will  repay  a  hundred  fold  with  spiritual  treasurers,  and  will  lay  up  for  you  riches 
to  ornament  that  life  which  lasts  not  seventy  or  eighty  years,  but  is  eternal. 

While,  brethren,  you  are  engaged  in  the  works  of  such  moment,  we  know 
that  you  by  no  means  forget  our  Father,  and  the  supreme  head  of  the  church,  Leo, 
by  Divine  Providence  the  XIII  of  the  name,  but  that  in  all  your  prayers  you 
beseech  Almighty  God  for  him.  We  exhort  you  to  perform  this  sacred  duty  yet 
more  earnestly.     For  in  these  times,  full  of  sorrow  for  the  Roman   church,  the 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Holy  Spirit  has  placed  him  in  the  chair  of  Peter,  where  by  word  and  by  example^ 
followini,^  in  the  footsteps  of  his  inniieciiate  predecessor,  of  holy  memory,  he  is 
guardmg  with  the  greatest  fortitude  the  rights  of  the  church.  Therefore,  pray  to 
God  His  holy  spirit  may  ever  be  present  in  His  Vicar  with  his  holy  gifts, so  that  he 
may  worthily  lead  the  flock  of  Christ  in  the  way  of  salvation,  and  keep  it  from 
every  appearance  of  evil. 

That  a  merciful  God  may  aid  us  in  our  work  in  the  cause  of  religion,  let  us 
observe  faithfully  the  laws  of  the  church,  which  are  the  means  of  knowing  God's 
will  and  of  doing  it.  Let  us  follow  the  spirit  of  the  church,  the  guide  of  our  life, 
for  she  has  the  spirit  of  God.  Let  us  adopt  the  customs  approved  by  her  prayers, 
devout  practices  of  every  kind.  Let  us  cherish  especially  devotion  towards  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  and  towards  the  Ever  Blessed  and  Immaculate  Virgin 
Mary,  and  instil  them  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  young.  By  the  aid  of  such 
evotion  we  shall  lead  lives  peaceful,  holy,  pleasing  to  God,  useful  here  and  in. 
eternity,  for,  says  the  Apostle,  "  piety  is  useful  for  all  things." 

Let  us  also  pray  the  Holy  Spouse  of  B.  V.  Mary,  St.  Joseph,  the  patron  of 
the  church,  and  the  Holy  Apostles,  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul,  whom  we  have  chosen  to 
aid  us  by  their  powerful  protection,  in  the  discharge  of  our  episcopal  office,  that 
everything  may  be  prosperously  done  to  the  greater  honor  and  glory  of  God,  and  to 
the  welfare  of  souls,  "  and  the  peace  of  God,  which  surpasseth  all  understanding, 
keep  your  hearts  and  minds  m  Christ  Jesus."     Amen. 

Given  at  Rome,  outside  the  Ostian  Gate,  this  12th  day  of  May,  1878,  Feast  of 
the  Patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  and  the  day  of  our  consecration. 


(115) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  BISHOP  CHATARD's  LECTURES  ON  VERY  IMPORTANT 
SUBJECTS  WHICH  ^VILL  BE  FOUND  BOTH  INSTRUCTIVE  AND  EDIFY- 
ING FOR  BOTH  CATHOLICS  AND    NON-CATHOLICS. 

ON  a  very  important  subject,  in  1877,  Bishop  Chatard,  on  invi- 
tation, delivered  a  lecture  before  the  Leonine  Union,  the  cen- 
tral Catholic  society  of  the  capital  of  Indiana.  His  treatment  of  the 
question  showed  his  versatility  and  his  wide  range  of  knowledge 
and  reading  even  outside  his  special  studies  as  an  ecclesiastic.  We 
quote  in  part  from  his  introductory  remarks,  and  continuing  as  suits 
our  purpose  as  follows: 

TENURE  OF  LAND  AND  EMINENT  DOMAIN. 

"It  is  an  easy  stumbling-block  in  the  path  of  those  who  are 
wayward,  that  primarily,  God  made  the  earth  and  gave  it  to  the 
children  of  men  in  common;  and  that  the  natural  law  contains  no 
dictate  which  says  that  land  shall  be  in  one  way  more  than  in 
another.  The  theme,  consequently,  suggests  itself  to  a  philan- 
thropist of  fanciful  mood  and  of  unpractical  ways,  how  shall  land 
best  be  held,  in  common  or  otherwise.'  and  he  decides  that  it  is 
far  better  that  it  be  held  as  it  was  originally  given,  in  common. 
From  that  to  the  condemnation  of  those  who  defend  individual 
ownership  of  land  the  passage  is  easy.  Then  the  historical  student 
goes  to  work  to  investigate  how  from  the  land  being  common  prop- 
erty, it  came  to  be  possessed  as  private  property.  He  goes  back 
till  he  comes  to  the  dawn  of  civilization,  or  to  the  days  of  bar- 
barism, and  he  hunts  for  the  germs  of  the  idea  of  individual  pos- 
session, and  on  his  researches  others  may  base  heir  theories  on  the 
subject.      Thus,  in  his  Constitutional  History  of  England,  Professor 

oTeT 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Stubbs,  of  Oxford,  goes  to  Germany  and  investigates  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  Saxons  and  other  tribes  who  contributed  their 
quota  to  the  invasion  and  conquest  of  England.  It  is  interesting 
to  hear  what  he  says,  for  it  is  from  England,  the  mother  country, 
that  our  own  common  law,  which  regulates  this  question  of  land 
tenure,  has  come;  though,  as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  develop,  the 
idea  of  holding  from  the  crown  or  the  state,  which,  it  appears, 
underlies  the  system,  is  rather  2,  fictio  Juris,  a  fiction  of  law,  and, 
at  all  events,  merely  an  accidental  mode  of  tenure,  and  by  no 
means  from  the  essence  of  -things. 

"I  would  premise,  lest  there  be  misunderstanding,  that  Pro- 
fessor Stubbs,  to  my  knowledge,  nowhere  argues  in  favor  of  hold- 
ing land  in  common.  But  he  quotes  ancient  writers  to  sh/jw  what 
was  the  original  custom  among  the  Saxons.  On  page  19  of  vol- 
ume I,  after  speaking  of  the  writings  of  Julius  Ca'sar,  he  quotes 
the  historian,  Tacitus,  saying  that  'possessions  of  land  are  held  by 
all,  by  turn,  that  is  in  common,  which  they  presently  divide  up 
accordingly  to  the  rank  of  dignity  of  the  cultivators.'* 

' '  Commenting  on  this  passage,  Prof.  Stubbs  goes  on  to  say  it  is 
evident  there  were  classes  among  the.early  Germans — the  noble,  the 
well-born,  the  freedmen  and  the  slaves.  'But,'  he  adds,  'the 
inequalities  in  the  use  or  possession  of  land  involve  no  inequalities 
in  social  or  political  rights.'  These  tribes,  therefore,  seem  to  have 
held  their  possessions  originally  in  common,  and  to  have  divided 
them  up  annually,  or  periodically,  according  to  the  importance  or 
need  of  those  who  cultivated  them,  on  the  principle  that  those  who 
had  greater  need  on  account  of  their  flocks,  or  greater  merit  in 
defending  the  country,  should  be  more  bountifully  provided  for; 
which,  I  think,  all  will  look  upon  as  the  beginning  of  that  unavoid- 
able inequality  in  the  distribution  of  wealth  which  always  and 
everywhere  manifests  itself  among  men.  Further,  on  page  23,  the 
professor  tells  us  that  the  slaves  paid  rent,  which  shov\'s  that  even 
this  tenure  in  common  had  its  modifications.  Speaking  of  the 
gradual  change  from  possession  in  common  to  that  of  the  individ- 

*"Agri  pro  niimero  cultorum  ab  universis  in  vices  fal.  in  vicis)  occupantur 
quos  mox  inter  se  secundum  dignationem  partiuntur."  Dr.  W'aitz  contends  for 
in  vicis. 

"ITTt") 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ual,  Prof.  Stubbs  goes  on:  'Without  conjecturing  iiow  the  change 
took  place,  we  may  safely  assume  that,  although  traces  still  remain 
of  a  common  land  tenure  at  the  opening  of  Anglo-Saxon  history, 
absolute  ownership  of  land  in  severalty  was  established  and  becom- 
ing a  rule.  \\'e  may,  then,  regard  the  land  as  referable  to  two 
great  divisions:  that  which  was  held  by  individuals  in  full  owner- 
ship, and  that  of  which  the  ownership  was  in  the  state.'  The 
former,  because  recorded,  was  called  'book-land';  the  latter  was 
known  as  'folcland',  or  public  land. 

"We  come  now  to  the  period  in  which  the  feudal  system  pre- 
vails and  still  further  modifies  the  tenure  of  lands.  This  system  came 
from  the  peoples  that  invaded  the  Roman  empire,  and  was  founded 
on  conquest.  The  conquerer  allotted  the  land  to  whom  he  pleased, 
and  the  holder  held  his  possession  or  feud  from  his  sovereign,  the 
donor.  Blackstone,  on  the  Rights  of  Things,  book  II,  chap,  i, 
pp. 45-46  (Sharswood's  edition,  1875),  says  on  this  subject,  allot- 
ments of  this  nature,  '  all  sprang  from  the  same  right  to  conquest.' 
Prof.  Stubbs,  referring  to  the  Germans  (vol.  I,  p.  35),  remarks: 
'The  military  princeps  has  but  to  conquer  and  colonize  a  new 
territor}^  and  reward  his  followers,  on  a  plan  that  will  keep  them 
faithful,  as  well  as  free,  and  feudalism  springs  into  existence.' 

"From  what  has  been  said  it  is  evident,  first,  that  the  pos- 
session of  land  in  common,  where  it  existed,  was  found  to  be 
impracticable  on  a  large  scale  and  in  need  of  modification,  and  it 
finally  gave  way  to  individual  ownership;  and,  secondly,  that  the 
feudal,  in  which  all  hold  from  the  sovereign,  is  an  artificial  condition 
of  tenure.  Possession  in  common,  therefore,  being  impracticable, 
and  the  possession  by  the  sovereign  of  all  land  being  a  forced  and 
not  natural  condition,  it  would  follow,  it  seems,  that  neither  pos- 
session in  common  nor  the  feudal  system  is  according  to  nature, 
that  is,  according  to  what  reason  demands,  although  not  contrary 
to  reason. 

"  What  will  our  reason  teach  on  this  subject.'  What  will  the 
study  of  the  essence  of  things  make  us  understand.'' 

"  Let  us  consult  the  masters  to  whom  the  world  looks  for 
guidance,  and  hear  what  they  have  to  say.  "      -      "      - 

Here  the  bishop  quotes  at  length  from  Sir  William  Blackstone^ 

(TisT 


{ 


^€, 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

St.  Thomas,  Taletus  and  Cardinal  Cajetan,  establishing  beyond 
dispute  the  correctness  of  the  principle  of  individual  ownership  of 
property,  and  then  continues: 

"While  nearly  all  who  call  themselves  Catholics  will  be  found 
holding  strongly  to  this  doctrine  of  individual  ownership  of  land, 
there  are  some  who  unwittingly  play  into  the  hands  of  the  ene- 
mies of  the  truth,  owing  to  the  confused  idea  they  have  concern- 
ing the  rights  of  the  state  over  the  property  of  individuals.  They 
confound  what  is  known  as  the  right  of  eminent  domain  with  a 
right  of  possession  to  the  land  itself,  attributing,  at  least  in  the 
abstract,  such  dominion  to  the  state.  This  is  a  fatal  error;  for 
there  cannot  be  two  possessors.  The  concession  that  the  state  is 
a  possessor  even  in  the  abstract  gives  up  the  whole  case  to  the 
communist  and  socialist;  for  the  principle  carried  out  legitimately 
would  make  the  individual  only  a  tenant  at  will.  It  is  for  this 
reason  very  important  that  we  should  have  a  precise  idea  of  what 
eminent  domain  is. 

"It  is  not,  in  the  first  place,  a  dominion  properly  so  called, 
which  implies  ownership.  The  term  ' dominiiun  altuni'  was  used 
by  Suarez  and  others  to  signify  a  certain  power,  but  not  to  exclude 
the  ownership  of  the  individual.  The  theory,  which  originated  in 
feudalism,  that  all  land  in  England  vvas  held  of  the  crown,  origi- 
nated in  the  right  of  conquest.  But  this  conquest  is  an  accidental 
thing, >^nd  any  right  which  flows  from  it  must  have  the  same  acci- 
dental nature,  for  it  can  not  rise  higher  than  its  source.  This 
theory,  therefore,  does  not  pertain  to  the  essential  ideas  of  natural 
right,  to  which  alone  we  are  to  go  for  principles  by  which  our  judg- 
ment is  to  be  formed.  The  same  thing  is  to  be  said  about  various 
ways  of  tenure  of  land  in  different  countries.  It  is  said,  with 
how  much  truth  I  confess  I  am  not  able  to  say,  that  the  land  in 
Ireland  was  not  held  in  private  ownership  in  early  times,  about 
the  fifth  century,  but  in  common  by  the  people.  It  would  seem 
to  have  been  a  system  such  as  Professor  Stubbs  speaks  of  as  obtain- 
ing in  Germany  among  the  Saxons.  It  may  have  been  patriarchal, 
a  system  possible  where  the  people  are  not  numerous,  and  are 
very  closely  allied  with  each  other  by  blood  or  interests.  But  just 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Saxons  it  was  found  impracticable  to  hold  land 

"(119)- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

in  common,  just  so  patriarchal  systems  are  doomed  to  disappear 
and  be  succeeded  by  a  tenure  more  in  accord  with  the  exigencies 
of  society  and  with  the  dictates  of  human  reason;  for,  as  we  have 
seen,  supposing  no  prior  owner,  and  placing  men  face  to  face  with 
the  question  what  they  are  to  with  the  land  upon  which  they 
are  to  dwell,  the  solution  will  be  that  individuals  are  to  own  the 
land,  and  the  community  is  to  protect  the  rights  of  each  one. 

"One  or  two  preliminary  remarks  will  help  us  to  understand 
better  what  eminent  domain  is,  regarding  which  we  shall  consult 
authorities,  as  I  have  just  done.  Government  exists  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  people  subject  to  it,  and  authority  is  a  trust  to  be  used 
for  the  good  of  those  under  it.  All  authority  comes  from  God, 
and  it  is  to  be  obeyed  for  conscience  sake;  who  resists  the  author- 
ity of  the  state  resists  the  ordinance  of  God.  But  the  state  must 
proceed  by  law,  which  is  an  ordination  of  reason  emanating  from 
the  person  or  persons  having  the  care  of  the  community,  and  made 
for  the  common  good.  Reason  is  the  life  of  law.  The  state, 
therefore,  has'to  act  for  the  public  good  according  to  reason.  Its 
rights,  therefore,  are  not  unlimited;  reason  limits  them  in  the  first 
place,  and  the  public  good  in  the  second  place;  though  the  rea- 
sonableness and  the  utility  of  a  law^  are,  in  themselves,  insepar- 
able. The  state,  therefore,  can  not  arbitrarily  and  unnecessarily 
interfere  with  the  rights  of  individuals.  But  there  come  circum- 
stances in  which  reason  itself  dictates  that  the  state  must  interfere 
and  put  in  abeyance  the  rights  of  individuals,  for  protection  or 
general  welfare;  occasionally,  in  cases  of  necessity,  even  destroy 
property,  as  in  times  of  war.  In  the  present  instance  I  am  not 
called  upon  to  examine  the  various  phases  of  this  supreme' power 
inherent  naturally  in  every  state.  I  here  call  attention  to  it  in 
regard  to  the  property,  the  landed  possessions  of  a  countrx-,  and 
ask  the  question,  what  is  meant  by  eminent  domain,  the  name  by 
which  this  power  is  known.' "      "      ""      ""      *     "" 

Regarding  the  nature  of  eminent  domain,  as  quite  distinct 
from  private  or  individual  ownership,  he  quotes  Henry  E.  Mills, 
Judge  Cooley,  Chancellor  Kent,  and  such  theologians  as  Suarez 
and   J.    Costa-Rosetti,    S.   J.,  and   then   continues  and   concludes: 

"  Eminent  domain  differs  from  ownership: 

<T20r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

"First,  in  itself.  Ownership  gives  dominion,  eminent  domain 
does  not;  for  it  is  only  a  right  of  control,  through  a  sovereign 
right,  inherent  in  supreme  power.  And  this  right  of  eminent 
domain  does  not  differ  in  any  essential  point  from  the  general 
control  which  the  state  exercises  over  all  the  rights  of  its  citizens. 
Salus  populi  suprema  lex,  the  safety  of  the  republic  is  the 
supreme  law,  is  the  axiom  which  is  a  key  to  understanding  the 
true  nature  of  this  higher  right  or  eminent  domain.  How  that 
right  is  to  be  exercised  is  determined  by  the  special  nature  of  the 
right  or  rights  the  control  of  which  has  become  necessary. 

"Second,  in  its  conception.  The  idea  of  private  ownership  is 
first  in  mind;  then  arises  the  idea  of  the  control  of  it.  Ownership 
in  common,  we  may  grant,  was  the  original  mode  of  ownership. 
But  it  was  only  one  mode  of  ownership,  just  as  private  ownership 
is  another  mode.  When,  b}'  the  act  of  the  community,  ownership 
in  common  ceased,  the  community  no  longer  retained  any  owner- 
ship in  what  the  private  individual  had  begun  to  own.  There 
remained  only  the  sovereign  right  of  control  inherent  in  the  supreme 
power.  This  idea  of  sovereign  control,  in  the  logical  order,  arises 
in  the  mind  following  on  the  idea  of  private  ownership;  as  we  must 
first  conceive  the  idea  of  zo/iat  is  to  be  controlled  before  we  can 
have  the  idea  of  controlling  it. 

' '  Third,  in  its  scope.  Ownersnip  is  for  the  benefit  and  support 
of  the  family.  Eminent  domain  exists,  not  for  the  support  of  the 
state,  but  for  its  protection,  and  consequent  protection  of  the  rights 
of  all.  The  state  may  purchase  and  hold  property  for  its  benefit 
and  support,  as,  for  example,  a  tract  of  wooded  land.  But,  then, 
this  is  the  same  ownership  as  that  enjoyed  by  the  individual,  and 
is  regulated  by  the  same  laws. 

' '  Fourth,  in  its  powers  and  in  the  exercise  of  them.  Ownership 
allows  the  owner  to  dispose  of  his  property  when  and  how  he 
pleases.  Eminent  domain  seizes  property  only  in  certain  cases 
determined  by  the  public  need.  The  need  also  directs  how  that 
property  shall  be  disposed  of.  Compensation,  too,  must  be  made. 
Even  when  eminent  domain  is  spoken  of  as  '  a  right  of  transcend- 
ent propriety, '  as  we  have  seen  Puffendorf  style  it,  the  writer 
requires  compensation,  which  implies  ownership  by  the  individual. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  law  requires  compensation  to  be  offered  before  seizure,  which 
shows  respect  for  the  owner's  right. 

"Eminent  domain,  therefore,    is  essentially  distinct  from  the 
right  of   ownership,  which   it   excludes   from   its   very   conception, 
compensating,  as  it  does,  the   owner  for   his  property,  which  can 
be  seized  on  for  public  uses  for  public  good.      It  is  easy  to  under- 
stand, then,  how  wide  of  the   mark  they  are  who  confound  it  with 
dominion  proper.      It   would   be  bad  enough  to  err  in  stating  the 
contrary,  were  such  an  error  only  speculative  or  theoretical.      But 
in  the  present  tendency  of  many  to  apply  this  erroneous  judgment 
in  a   practical   manner,    so   as   to   take   away   property   from  the 
owner  and  tax  it  to  its  full  value  as  rent  to  the  state,  it  becomes  a 
most  dangerous  error,  and  should  be  guarded  against  most  care- 
fully, for  it  is  the  basis  of  the  socialistic  and  communistic  systems, 
which,  as  a  learned  writer,  already  quoted,    says,  '  agree  in  this, 
that  they  war  against  property.'      (N.  Signoriello,  Eth.  Specialis, 
p.  58.)     Socialism  has  been  too  often  condemned  by  the  supreme 
authority  of  the  church  to  need   that  we  enter  any  further  into  the 
treatment  of  it.      It  will  suffice  to  refer  here  to  the  encyclical  let- 
ters of  Pius  IX,   'Qui  Pluribus,'  of  November  9,   1846,   '  Nescitis 
et  Nobiscum,'    of    December   18,    1849,    and    '  Ouibus    Luctuosis- 
simis,'  of  September  5,  185  i.      Finally,  the  encyclical  letter  of  the 
present  sovereign   pontiff,    Leo  XIII,   'Quod   Apostolici  Muneris,' 
of  December  8,   1878,  speaks  thus   in  condemnation  of  this  and 
like  systems:    'Allured  by  cupidity  of  the  goods  of  this  life,  luhich 
is  the  root  of  all  evil,    in  seeking  which  some   have   erred   from 
faith  (I    Tim.  vi,   10),  they   attack   t/ie  right  of  owning  property, 
zvhich  right  the  natural  law  sanctions,  and  by  an  enormous  crime, 
while  they  seem  to  consult  the  needs  and  desires  of  all  men.  strive 
to  seize  and  hold   in  common  whatever  has  been  acquired  by  title 
of  legitimate  inheritance,  by  mental  or  manual  labor,  or  by  frugal- 
ity of  life.'     So   speaks   the  leader   of  God's  hosts;   the  trumpet 
gives  no  uncertain  sound;   we  know  our  banner,  and   upon  it  we 
read,   '  Be  just  to  all;  respect  every  man's  rights.'  " 


(12'2) 


IN    THIi    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 
"THE   EXISTENXE  OI-   THE  SOUL  01-    MAX." 

This  was  the  subject  of  one  of  the  series  of  lectures,  already 
referred  to  as  having  been  delivered  in  St.  John's  pro-cathredal  at 
Indianapolis,  by  Bishop  Chatard.  As  showing  his  method  of  pre- 
senting the  subject,  his  arguments  in  part,  and  also  his  excellent 
style,  the  following  selection  is  given: 

The  cardinal  principle  of  the  materialist  is  that  there  is  nothing  but  matter. 
Under  the  head  of  materialists  are  to  be  classed  the  positivists,  evolutionists  who 
evolve  everything  out  of  matter,  and  those  who  profess  a  belief  in  the  indefinite 
progress,  in  a  material  sense  of  nature.  For  all  these  theories  are  based  on  the 
development  of  matter.  To  these  are  to  be  added  a  horde  of  scientific  men,  who, 
without  any  special  preconceived  ideas,  from  their  observation  of  the  laws  of  mat- 
ter in  the  more  perfect  animal  organisms,  of  involuntary  muscular  action,  or  reflex 
action  in  man  and  in  the  animals,  of  the  movement  of  matter— of  a  limb,  even 
after  severance  from  the  parent  trunk— have  leaped  to  the  conclusion  that  thought 
is  but  a  secretion  of  the  brain,  and  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  soul.  It  is  use- 
less to  deny  the  gravity  of  this  error,  its  great  danger,  its  most  destructive  conse- 
quences. For  this  reason  I  have  taken  it  as  the  subject  of  my  second  lecture,  pro- 
posing to  show  the  impossibility  of  matter  thinking,  and  the  absolute  necessity, 
and  therefore  the  existence  of  a  spiritual  essence  in  man,  thinking  and  rulmg  his 
acts,  which  is  his  soul,  the  principle  of  his  actions,  and  the  responsible  agent  of 
them. 

By  matter  is  understood  by  all  that  which  is  composed  of  elements,  of  parts, 
and  can  be  divided;  which  has  extension  and  occupies  space.  It  is,  moreover, 
inert;  that  is,  it  does  not  move  itself;  and  when  it  does  move,  it  moves  in  conse- 
quence of  a  motor  or  fnoving  power,  and  then  it  moves  necessarily  in  the  direction 
of  the  force  or  power  that  acts  upon  it.  I  invite  your  attention  particularlv  to 
these  qualities  of  matter,  its  extension,  form,  and  shape,  its  inability  to  move  itself, 
and  its  necessary  movement  in  the  direction  of  the  force  that  acts  u]x)n  it;  for  I 
shall  make  special  use  of  these  facts  in  a  moment. 

If  we  turn  our  eyes  upon  ourselves,  as  it  were  inwardly,  and  consider 
what  we  are  conscious  of  as  gomg  on  within  us,  we  have  at  once  an  idea  of 
our  identity;  that  is,  we  are  conscious  we  are  the  same  person  we  were 
always.  Changes  have  gone  on  around  us;  this  body  of  ours  even  has 
changed;  but  there  is  a  something  in  us  that  has  not  changed;  it  is  that 
which  did  years  ago  what  we  are  sorry  for  now,  or  what  we  are  glad  we  did.  Again, 
that  something  which  is  in  us  rules  our  actions.  It  resolves,  it  acts  with  deliberation 
and  promptness,  it  makes  every  part  of  the  body  act,  all  parts  together  for  one  pur- 
pose—for example,  for  self-preservation— with  incredible  rapidity.  It  is  like  the 
engineer  who  is  driving  his  engine,  or  a  man  who  is  managing  a  pair  of  spirited 
horses;  his  action  makes  all  go  together  and  work  without  interfering  the  one  with 
the  other.  We  are  conscious  there  is  a  something  in  us  which  acts  in  this  way, 
and  feel  there  is  no  discussion  or  agreement  between  several  principles  of  being  in 
us  to  produce  so  harmonious  a  result.  The  very  quickness  with  which  we  get  out 
oi  danger  precludes  discussion,   deliberation,   agreement.     To  deliberate  would 

~lm) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

mean  destruction.    There  is,  therefore,  no  multitude  of  counselors,  but  one  direct- 
ing power.     Now,  this  can  be  only  on  the  supposition  that  this  something  is  simple, 
not  composed  of  parts;  the  very  complex  nature  of  man's  body   exacts  this.     To 
consist  of  parts  would  imply  the  necessity  of  these  different  parts  consulting,  advis- 
ing, agreeing,  or  refusing  to  agree,  if  they  were  capable  of  doing  this.      Therefore, 
is  it  that  this  principle  in  us  which  is  one,  identically  one;  which  is  one  in  its  direc- 
tion of  the  forces  of  body;  one  in  all  its  operations,  whether  of  mind  or  of  body— of 
thought,' that  is,  or  of  physical  action— must  be  one   by  nature,  not  compound,  not 
consisting  of  parts  added  to  parts,  and  therefore  simple  in  its  essence  or  being- 
simple,  and  not   compound,  not  a    composite.     For  the  acts  of  any   being  are  in 
accordance  with  its  nature;  while  its  nature  can  be  judged  of  from  its  acts.  Besides 
we  are  conscious  that  we  move  ourselves.     We  say   now  and  then   that  we  are 
moved  to  do  something;  but  we   mean  that   considerations  of  various  kinds  have 
influenced  our  thoughts  so  as  to  make  us  resolve  to  do  it.     All  the  time  we  are  con- 
scious that  we  move  ourselves;  that  we  needn't  unless  we  wish;  that  we  can  do  just 
the  opposite  if  we  desire.     Reason  tells  us  this  is  a  quality  that  matter  has  not;  and 
this  being  the  case,  what  has   that  quality  isn't  matter,   isn't  this   inert  mass  that 
can't  move  unless  something  moves  it.     Just  contrast  the  work  of  this  principle  of 
action  in   us  with   that  remarkable   phenomenon   called  "  reflex  action."     In  our- 
selves we  mav  see  both.     A  blow  to  a  nerve  will  cause  immediate  and  spasmodic 
action  of  a  limb  which  apparently  has  no   connection  with  the  nerve.     But  this  is 
the  result  of  mechanical  action,  irritating  a  nerve  and  thus  stimulating  the  nervous 
system,  and  is  determined  to  one  thing  or  act,  and  we  are   conscious  that  this  act 
goes  on    independently  of  us;  that  is,  I  am  conscious  this  movement  in  me  takes 
place  without  any  control    or  direction  of  the  thinking   principle   in  me;  whereas 
when  I  am  self-possessed  and  direct  my  actions,  such  actions  are  mine,  not  those  of 
mv  nerves,  or  of  my  body.     Is  not  this  the  way  all  men  talk,  and  is  it  not  the  judg- 
ment of  our  tribunal— reason?     Therefore  we  are  always,  in  a  natural,  easy  way, 
distino-uishing  between  the  action    of  matter  and  the  action  of  one,  simple,  self- 
rulin"-  self-directing  principle  in  us;  and  this  could  not  be,  unless   we   were    inti- 
matelv  persuaded  that  we  had  something  in  us  not  of  matter,  but  of  an  order  above 
matter  and  better  than  it,  differing  from  it  essentially  in  its  nature. 

Q^Q the  greatest — faculty  of  this   principle  in  us,  which  we  call    the    soul, 

is  thought.  This  is  its  life,  in  fact.  This  belongs  as  essentially  to  the  soul  as 
breath  does  to  the  body.  Now,  with  reference  to  thought,  we  are  conscious  that 
there  is  a  unity  in  thought  which  does  not  admit  a  division.  We  recognize  suc- 
cessive steps  or  stages  in  thought;  but  each  thought  is  one  in  itself.  It  may  be 
more  or  less  distinct,  yet  it  is  always  one.  Men  speak  of  half  a  mind;  but  this  is  a 
metaphorical  expression  signifying  that  they  are  not  fully  resolved.  To  speak  of 
thought  as  having  form,  shape,  color,  would  cause  people  to  look  at  you  with 
undisguised  astonishment,  possibly  with  disagreeable  surmises.  To  us  all  thought 
is  as  Fully  present,  as  indivisible,  as  is  the  simplicity  of  the  soul  itself;  and  it  can- 
not be  otherwise;  for,  as  I  have  said,  thought  is  the  life  of  the  soul,  and  if  the  one 
excludes  division  the  other  must,  too.  Tht)ught,  therefore,  cannot  be  conceived 
of  as  having  extension,  form,  shape,  color.  What  results  from  this?  That  the 
soul  is  simple,  not  composed  of  matter;  for  if  it  were,  the  thoughts  would  be  accord- 
ing to  its  nature  and  consist  of  parts,  and  consecpiently  there  would  be  nothing 
strange  in  speaking  of  a  half,  or  of  a  quarter  of  a  thought. 

(124)-" 


IN    THE    STATP:    of    INDIANA. 

A,i,Min,  thoui^ht  cannot  result  from  niotiDn  of  particles  of  niatte.*r.  The 
reason  of  it  is  this:  matter  is  inert  and  moves  only  m  consecjuence'  of  force  apphed 
to  it;  moreover,  as  I  have  already  said,  it  moves  necessarily  in  the  direction  of  the 
force  acting  on  it.  Here,  then,  is  an  additional  reason  which  convinc("S  us  of  the 
simplicity  of  the  soul,  for  we  are  conscious  of  the  freedom  of  our  thoughts.  We 
can  interrupt  them  at  will;  we  can,  by  the  interior  force  of  our  volition,  pursue  an 
entirely  different  train  of  thought.  We  can  check  our  mind  so  as  to  not  let  it  reach 
a  conclusion;  or,  having  reached  a  conclusion,  not  permit  our  will  to  carry  out  the 
result.  This  freedom  of  thought  is  absolutely  in  contradiction  to  that  necessary  or 
compulsory  movement  such  as  belongs  to  matter.  Besides,  the  necessity  also  of 
moving  in  the  direction  of  the  force  impelling  takes  away  all  res{)onsibility;  for  free- 
will is  destoyed.  Man  is  no  longer  a  free  agent;  he  becomes  material  wholly,  and 
acts  are  organic  changes  in  matter  for  which  he  is  not  answerable.  These  acts  are 
not  his;  for  the  movement  which  produces  such  changes  is  from  outside  and  the 
changes  are  absolutely  determined  in  extent  and  direction  by  the  outside  force. 
Here  the  materialist  finds  himself  at  once  in  conflict  with  the  firm  persuasion  and 
belief  of  human  reason  from  the  beginning;  for  men  have  always  recognized  the 
responsibiUty  of  man  with  regard  to  his  actions,  and  have  made  laws  on  that 
account.  The  very  existence  of  all  law  presupposes,  as  a  necessary  condition,  the 
freedom  of  man's  will,  his  power  to  rule  himself,  the  full  possession  of  his  facul- 
ties of  action — his  personality,  in  fine.  Reason,  therefore,  is  with  us  in  asserting 
unmistakably  the  existence  of  the  soul  of  man  as  a  simple  substance,  with  a  life 
of  thought  and  reason  and  of  freedom  of  action  which  constitute  it  a  spiritual 
being — a  spirit.     *     *     * 

"EARLY    CHRISTIANITY." 

The  most  matter-of-fact  of  Bishop  Chatard's  lectures  is  the 
one  entitled  as  above.  It  deals  with  facts  touching  the  practices 
and  beliefs  of  the  early  Christians,  and  cannot  fail  of  good  effect 
upon  those  who  read  it  with  the  desire  "to  know,"  even  if  "to 
believe  "  be  but  secondary  with  them.  We  quote  the  introduction 
and  a  portion  of  the  argumentative  part,  leaving  the  reader  to  find 
the  lecture  complete  in  "Christian  Truths,"  published  by  the 
Catholic  Publication  society,  New  York,   1881: 

Although  the  nineteenth  century  is  an  epoch  of  novelty  and  of  invention,  there 
never  has  been  a  period  in  which  interest  in  the  history  of  remote  ages  was  keener, 
or  the  results  of  archaeological  investigations  more  satisfactory.  The  whole  world 
is  divided  into  two  classes  of  seemingly  opposite  ideas.  One  is  peering  into  the 
future,  believing  in  the  progress  of  humanity,  casting  on  the  past  doubt  which  will 
not  stand  the  test  of  principles  often  arbitrarily  assumed.  The  other  is  matter  of- 
fact,  does  not  discard  the  amelioration  of  the  human  race,  but  rejecting  unsustained 
theories'  and  unfounded  skepticism,  looks  to  the  past  for  lessons  of  truth  and  of 
wisdom,  believing  that  there  have  been  wise  men  and  truthful  narrators  of  what 
once  was.  The  spirit  of  the  former  class,  though  not  without  its  beneficial  feat- 
ures, has  been  the  cause  of  immense  evil  in  casting  aside  cherished  memories  and 

(]2by 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

traditions,  and  with  them  the  principles  which  gave  them  life.  Dazzling  often  with 
the  electric  brilliancy  of  their  success,  they  have  oftener  led  men  into  darkness 
impenetrable,  and  entangled  them  hopelessly  in  the  meshes  of  illogic  or  unsound 
thought.  The  latter  class,  in  quiet,  plodding,  persevering  efforts,  attract  little 
attention,  till  suddenly  a  result  is  obtained,  solid  in  its  nature,  durable  in  its  effects, 
and  triumphant  in  its  vindication  of  historic  truth. 

To  this  latter  class  belong  generally  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  serious 
study  of  antiquity,  not  led  by  theory,  but  eminently  inductive  in  their  method, 
gathering  facts,  collating  them,  and  patiently  awaiting  the  fruit  they  hope  for.  Not 
a  square  inch  of  stone  bearing  the  marks  of  the  hand  of  man  escapes  them;  a  cun- 
eiform character,  a  hieroglyph,  a  Greek  letter,  or  a  Latin  date,  invests  the  cold 
marble  with  an  mterest  which  gives  it  life  and  makes  it  speak  in  faltering  accents 
first,  then  in  language  not  to  be  mistaken,  when,  in  union  with  its  other  parts,  it 
tells  of  the  past  in  a  way  that  cannot  be  gainsaid.  It  is  by  such  patient,  painstak- 
ing care  that  the  discoveries  of  Layard,  of  George  Smith,  at  Nineveh,  and  of  Schlie- 
mann  at  Troy  and  ISIycense,  have  been  brought  about.  The  schools  of  Niebuhr 
and  of  Arnold  may  be  aptly  taken  as  representing  those  who  write  history  from 
theoretical  standpoints,  and  who,  influenced  by  skepticism,  have  rejected  as  fable 
what  they  could  not  compass.  The  spirit,  however,  which  has  actuated  Layard, 
George  Smith  and  Schliemann  is  fitly  shown  us  in  the  following  words  of  Mr. 
William  Dyer,  author  of  the  well-known  article  on  Roman  antiquity  in  Smith's 
Classical  Dictionary,  and  subsequently  of  the  interesting  and  valuable  works  on  the 
histories  of  the  City  of  Rome  and  of  the  Kings.  At  page  62  of  his  introduction  to 
the  History  of  the  City  of  Rome,  he  says:  "There  is  little  motive  to  falsify  the 
origin  and  dates  of  public  buildings;  and,  indeed,  their  falsification  would  be  much 
more  diffcult  than  that  of  events  transmitted  by  oral  tradition,  or  even  recorded  in 
writing.  In  fact,  we  consider  the  remains  of  some  of  the  monuments  of  the  regal 
and  republican  periods  to  be  the  best  proofs  of  the  fundamental  truths  of  early 
Roman  history."  This  is  an  eminently  sensible  remark;  and  I  shall  take  its  mean- 
ing as  our  guide  in  the  treatment  of  the  subject  of  this  lecture.  Early  Christianity. 
The  sources,  therefore,  to  which  we  shall  look  for  information  will  be  the  monu- 
ments of  Christian  anticiuity  existing  at  the  present  time.  These  are  found  scat- 
tered over  a  very  wide  range  of  territory — a  range  co-extensive  with  the  old  Roman 
empire.  They  are  of  varied  character — architectural,  commemorative,  sepulchral, 
artistic,  in  painting  and  in  sculpture.  Necessarily,  in  a  brief  lecture,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  go  over  such  a  field,  and  it  is  imperative  that  I  should  confine  myself 
to  a  part  only  of  it,  and  even  then  in  a  summary  way. 

Of  all  parts  of  the  Roman  empire  none  could  certainly  reward  investigation 
better  than  the  Eternal  city  itself,  its  capital,  which  became  the  center  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  dwelling  place  of  St.  Peter  and  of  his  successors,  the  heads  of  the 
church  in  their  res])ective  epochs.  Thither  came  Christians  from  all  parts  of  the 
known  world,  and  their  piety  made  them  devote  their  means  to  advance  the 
material  prosperity  of  the  church  in  the  erection  of  churches  and  sanctuaries,  and 
sepulchral  ornaments.  No  portion  of  the  Roman  empire,  for  these  reasons,  is 
richer  in  monuments  of  Christian  antiquity  than  Rome  with  its  territory;  and  to  its 
study  I  invite  your  attention.  Even  here,  however,  as  the  objects  deserving  atten- 
tion are  so  numerous,  to  study  profitably,  it  will  be  necessary  to  restrict  ourselves 
to  the  exploration   of   the   principal  mines  whence  the  treasures  of    Christian 


IN    THE    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

archceology  are  taken,  the  catacombs,  in  which  the  Christians  of  the  first  ages  were 
hiid  to  rest. 

The  practice  of  depositing  the  bodies  of  the  dead  in  the  ground  the  Chris- 
tians took  from  the  Jews.  It  was  not  wholly  a  Jewish  custom,  as  may  be  seen  by 
mspecting  pagan  tombs  discovered  not  long  since  on  the  Latin  road.  But  the 
favorite  manner,  used  by  the  Romans,  was  that  of  cremation,  a  custom  born  of  the 
sentiment  of  repugnance  human  pride  has  to  what  is  so  revolting  in  death.  The 
Jew,  who  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  reverenced  the  tabernacle  in 
which  it  had  to  dwell,  and  in  vvhicli  he  believed  it  was  again  one  day  to  live. 
"  In  my  flesh  shall  I  see  my  Redeemer,"  was  for  him  a  sacred  thought  of  deep 
meaning,  and  a  tenet  of  unshaken  faith.  He  followed  the  example  of  Abraham 
and  of  the  patriarchs,  and  laid  his  dead  to  rest  in  tombs  cut  in  the  rock  or  exca- 
vated in  the  soil,  leaving,  in  humble  submission  to  God,  the  remains  to  resolve 
themselves  into  their  former  elements,  as  ordained  by  the  Maker  of  man.  To 
these  reasons  of  the  Jews  the  Christians  added  a  still  more  weighty  one,  in  fact  of 
the  Savior  of  man  having  thus  been  laid  to  rest.  Every  Christian  wished  to  have 
his  body  buried  as  that  of  his  Master,  with  whom  he  expected  one  day  to  rise  again. 

Before  the  Christian  religion  was  preached  in  Rome  the  Jews  were  there, 
and  possessed  places  of  burial  which  remain  at  this  day.  Rome,  being  the  center 
of  the  world  at  that  day,  was  the  starting  point  whence  radiated  roads  to  every 
point  of  the  compass.  These  were  the  Ostain  way,  the  Latin  way,  the  Flaminian 
way,  the  Nomentan  way,  and  the  great  Appian  way,  the  main  artery  of  communi- 
cation with  the  vast  east,  running  across  the  Campagna  in  a  straight  line  to  Brun- 
tlisium,  and  so  much  frequented  as  to  receive  the  appellation,  Regina  V'iarum — 
"  Queen  of  Ways."  By  this  road  St.  Paul  came  to  Rome,  striking  the  Via  Appia 
on  his  way  northward  from  Puteoli,  or  Pozzuoli.  Owing  to  the  fact  of  its  being 
the  principal  way  out  of  Rome,  it  was  selected  by  preference  as  the  one  along 
which  the  great  families  of  the  city  erected  the  sepulchral  monuments  destined  to 
hold  the  ashes  of  their  members.  Nothing  could  be  more  gratifying  to  family 
pride  than  that  all  who  left  or  entered  the  great  metropolis  of  the  world,  should  see 
the  statues  of  those  whose  deeds  had  made  the  family  famous,  and  recognize,  in 
the  taste  and  profusion  of  rich  ornament,  the  culture  and  wealth  of  those  to  whom 
the  monuments  belonged.  For  miles  outside  the  city,  the  Appian  was  lined  with 
these  tombs.  This  display  disposition  and  circumstances  made  the  Christians 
leave  to  the  pagans.  They  were  obliged,  more  by  public  opinion  than  by 
law,  to  bury  as  privately  as  was  possible.  The  law  of  Rome  was  very  con- 
siderate with  regard  to  burial,  and,  in  fact,  would  serve  as  a  model  for  more 
than  one  of  the  present  ruling  states  of  the  world.  Even  during  persecution 
burial  was  protected  by  law.  The  jurisconsult,  Marcean  (Digest.,  i.  8,  56)  says: 
"  Any  one  makes  a  place  sacred  when  he  places  in  his  property  a  dead  body." 
Paulus,  another  authority,  states  (Sentent.,  1.  21,  4):  "Whosoever  lays  bare  a 
body  permanently  liuried,  or  put  for  a  time  in  any  place,  or  exposes  it  to  the 
light  of  the  sun,  commits  a  crime  against  religion."  (De  Roasi,  Bull.  Archasol. 
Sacr.,  an.  1865,  p.  89).  He  also  says  that  "  the  bodies  of  criminals  are  to  be  given 
up  to  any  persons  seeking  them  for  burial;  "  though  sometimes,  through  odium  of 
crime,  especially  of  treason,  it  was  not  done.  The  Justinian  code  (iii.  44,  11)  con- 
tains a  decree  of  Diocletian  and  of  Maxentius,  of  the  year  290,  in  which  they  say: 
•"  We  do  not  forbid  the  burial  of  those  condemned  for  crime  and  subjected  to  a 

8  (127) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

well-deserved  punishment."  This  was  the  law.  But  public  feelings  often  set 
aside  law;  and  the  Christians,  with  commendable  prudence,  took  this  into  account, 
They,  therefore,  as  a  rule,  sought  to  bury  where  they  would  be  less  likely  to  be 
observed.  The  situations  they  sought  were  the  hills  around  Rome,  generally  at 
the  sides  of  the  great  Roman  ways,  not  far  from  the  city.  A  radius  of  about  seven 
miles  will  include  the  most  distant  of  the  catacombs,  by  which  name  are  known 
the  Christian  cemeteries.  The  reason  why  the  Christians  sought  the  hills  was 
because,  as  they  buried  deep  underground  and  not  on  the  surface,  they  feared  the 
waters  of  the  rivers  getting  into  the  tombs  in  low  ground.  Moreover,  they  found 
strata  of  soft  rock,  known  as  tufa,  which  cuts  easily  with  a  pick,  and  which,  as 
long  as  it  is  underground,  and  not  subject  to  the  action  of  the  weather,  remains 
for  centuries  unchanged;  this  being  in  great  part  due  to  the  equable  temperature 
of  the  catacombs,  and  especially  to  the  absence  of  frost.  Having  selected  a  fitting 
place  for  their  cemetery,  which  was  generally  on  the  farm  of  some  Christian,  they 
began  by  sinking  a  shaft,  or  by  striking  out  from  some  sand-pit  into  which  pro- 
jected this  soft  tufa.  A  corridor  was  excavated,  seven  or  eight  feet  high  by  three 
feet  wide,  the  earth  being  carried  up  and  scattered  over  the  farm,  or  thrown  into 
the  old  sand-pit.  When  the  corridor  was  completed,  they  made  burial-places  in 
the  sides  of  it,  according  to  the  size  of  the  corpse,  and  about  a  foot  and  a  half  in 
depth  and  height,  which  was  hermetically  sealed  with  tiles  or  marble  slabs, 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  the  occupant,  with  figures,  facts  or  dates.  When  these 
burial-places,  known  as  loculi,  or  loculus,  in  the  singular,  had  taken  up  all  avail- 
able space,  a  further  excavation  was  made;  and,  leaving  a  passage-way,  it  was  the 
rule  to  throw  the  earth  excavated  into  old  corridors,  sometimes  completely  filling 
them,  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  top.  This  is  why  the  catacombs  are  now 
said  to  be  excavated;  this  filling  is  taken  out.  It  was  providential  that  the  Chris- 
tians filled  up  these  corridors,  for  by  this  means  the  most  valuable  remains  of 
Christian  antiquity  have  been  kept  to  our  day.  After  the  burial  in  the  catacombs 
ceased,  they  were  from  time  to  time  devastated,  first  by  the  Goths  in  the  fifth  cen- 
tury, and  in  the  eighth  century  by  the  Lombards  under  Astolphus,  in  the  year  755. 
The  latter  devastation  was  the  worst  of  all.  Tombs  were  violated,  inscriptions 
and  monuments  broken  to  pieces  and  strewn  around,  mingled  with  earth  and 
sand;  and  this  mass  contributed  also  to  fill  up  the  corridors.  From  this  fact  we 
can  appreciate  the  prudence  which  causes  the  earth  now  taken  from  the  cata- 
combs to  be  carefully  sifted,  and  every  portion  of  marble  discovered  in  it  to  be 
jealously  preserved  for  future  use  in  making  up  the  monument  it  belongs  to  when 
the  other  parts  will  come  to  light. 

From  the  corridors  at  intervals  open  out  small  rooms  or  chapels,  known  as 
cubicula.  A  cubiculum  is  usually  not  more  than  ten  feet  square;  not  always  that. 
It  generally  has  an  arched  tomb,  known  as  an  arcosolium,  in  which  the  head  of  the 
family  to  which  the  chapel  belonged  was  laid  to  rest,  or  scmie  distinguished  person 
or  martyr  deposited.  The  remainder  of  the  chapel  is  lined  with  loculi  for  the 
members  of  the  family.     The  walls  between  them  were  plastered  and  frescoed. 

For  my  purpose  it  is  not  necessary  even  to  enumerate  the  various  Catacombs, 
and  useless  to  attempt  to  speak  of  more  than  one.  For  this  reason  I  take  the  most 
celebrated,  as  well  as  the  one  richest  in  what  we  wish  to  study — the  catacombs  of 
St.  Calixtus. 

Riding  out  on  the  Appian  Way,  passing  the  Baths  of  Caracalla,  the  tombs  of 

("128)  ~ 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

the  Scipios,  the  Columbaria,  of  Ciesar  and  of  Pompey,  you  see  before  you  the  straight 
Jine  of  the  Appian  stretchinj^  on  to  the  Aihan  Hills,  crowned  by  the  ruins  of  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  Latialis,  upon  which  stands  a  convent  of  the  Passionist  Fathers- 
On  the  riglu  and  on  the  left  at  intervals  stand  shai)eless  masses  of  masonry.  What 
are  they,  or  wi-re  they?  They  are  the  nitclei  of  sepulchral  structures,  which,  cov- 
ered over  with  beautiful  marble,  and  ornamented  l)y  statuary  and  alto-relievo  work, 
were  the  pride  of  the  old  Roman  families,  and  enclosed  the  ashes  of  their  ancestors. 
About  three  miles  out  to  the  right  stands  conspicuously  one  of  these  masses,  having 
beside  it  two  trees  which  enable  you  to  recognize,  from  a  great  distance,  the  site  of 
the  Catacombs  of  St.  Calixtus.  In  the  first  century  this  area,  or  burial  place, 
belonged  to  the  gens  Cieciliana,  a  pagan  family.  Later,  some  of  the  family  becom- 
ing Christian,  it  was  in  the  possession  of  the  lady,  from  whom  that  portion  of  this 
Christian  cemetery  is  known  as  the  crypt  of  Lucina.  Here  Christian  burial  went 
on  during  the  latter  part  of  the  first,  and  during  the  second  century,  until  every 
portion  was  so  full  of  tombs  that  it  was  necessary  to  enlarge  the  cemetery.  Pope 
Zephyrinus  ruled  the  Church  of  Rome  from  the  year  A.  U.  202,  and  Calixtus  was 
the  archdeacon.  To  him  the  Pope  entrusted  the  charge  of  carrying  out  the  work 
which  made  this  the  principal  cemetery  of  Christian  Rome.     *     *     * 

The  cessation  of  burial  in  the  catacombs  certainly  gives  us  sure  data  with  regard 
to  what  is  found  in  them.  But  there  are  other  indications  which  serve  to  fix  still 
more  clearly  the  epoch  to  which  the  monuments  we  wish  to  use  belong.  In  the 
crypt  of  the  Catacombs  of  St.  Calixtus,  the  wall  of  which  has  the  representation  of 
the  Good  Shepherd  surrounded  by  His  sheep,  some  of  which  are  drinking  of  water 
flowing  from  the  rock,  on  careful  examination  I  found  that  the  plaster,  which 
served  to  close  a  loculus,  lapped  over  the  painting.  Now  this  loculus  had  been 
made  by  cutting  through  the  painting,  because  all  the  other  portions  of  the  wall  of 
the  crypt  had  become  filled  with  bodies.  Consequently  this  was  an  old  fresco 
when  it  was  cut  through.  People  don't  cut  through  new  paintings.  But,  as  I  said, 
burial  in  the  catacombs  ceased,  or  began  to  cease,  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourth 
century.  This  fresco  was  old  then.  Other  indications  show  it  to  belong  to  the 
groups  of  the  early  part  of  the  third  century,  while  art  was  still  flourishing.  In 
fact,  the  judgments  which  artists,  irrespectively  of -religious  persuasion,  have  pro- 
nounced with  reference  to  these  frescoes  of  St.  Calixtus,  allots  them  to  the  early 
part  of  the  third  century.  Just  as  those  who  are  engaged  in  biblical  research  learn 
to  distinguish,  with  great  accuracy,  the  epoch  of  codices  or  Bible  MSS.  by  the 
material  on  which  they  are  written,  the  style  of  lettering,  and  other  less  indications; 
so,  too,  artists  determine  with  great  sureness,  and  very  close  approximation,  the 
period  to  which  paintings  belong.  Who  cannot  tell  a  pre-Raphael  from  a  Giulio 
Romano?  Who  is  not  able  to  distinguish  a  Byzantine  head  from  a  Roman  face  of 
the  time  of  the  Ca?sars?  Just  so  it  is  with  regard  to  the  paintmgs  of  the  cata- 
combs. Some  might  wonder  how  they  could  last  so  long  under  ground,  and 
be  inclined  to  doubt  of  their  genuineness.  Let  them  go  to  the  Golden  House  of 
Nero  on  the  Esquiline,  admire  the  delicate  and  graceful  figures  of  the  Cripto  Por- 
tico; and,  when  they  have  given  expression  and  full  play  to  their  feelings  of  admi- 
ration of  the  art  of  the  first  century,  let  them  visit  the  catacombs  and  doubt,  if  they 
can,  of  the  possibility  of  frescoes  lasting  eighteen  hundred  years.     *     *    * 

Let  us  go  down  the  stairway  that  leads  into  the  catacombs  of  St.  Calixtus.     A 
descent  of  thirty  feet  brings  us  to  a  corridor,  and  a  turn  to  the  right  leads  us  to  the 

~(T29J 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

entrance  of  a  crypt  which  gives  the  name  by  which  these  catacombs  were  known  to' 
antiquity,  ad  sanctum  Xi/stum.  This  subterranean  chapel  is  about  fifteen  feet  long 
by  eight  feet  wide,  with  a  skylight.  Here  were  buried  St.  Xystus  and  twelve  other 
pontiffs.  The  bodies  were  taken  out  and  brought  to  Rome  in  consequence  of  the 
ravages  of  barbarians,  already  referred  to.  The  slabs  which  enclosed  the  remains 
were  broken  and  thrown  on  the  ground;  among  them,  those  of  Popes  Eutychian, 
Fabian,  Lucius  and  Anterus,  which  have  been  recovered  from  the  debris  and 
replaced  in  locvli.  Here  was  the  inscription  of  Pope  Damasus  I  spoke  of,  in  which, 
after  commemorating  the  sufferings  and  triumphs  of  those  laid  to  rest  in  the  cata- 
combs, he  declared  himself  "  afraid  to  disturb  the  ashes  of  the  just."  The  portions 
of  this  inscription  recovered  are  let  into  a  piece  of  peperino,  or  stone  of  the  Alban 
Mount.  To  the  name,  ad  sanctum  Xystum,  was  coupled  the  further  appellation,  ad 
sanctum  Oceciliam;  for  tradition  told  of  the  burial  place  of  St.  Cascilia  at  this  place. 
When  Pope  Paschal  I,  who  became  pope  the  year  817,  set  about  bringing  the  bodies 
of  the  martyrs  and  pontiffs  to  Rome,  he  sought  for  her  body,  but  could  not  find  it. 
He  tells  us  in  the  Liber  Pontificalis  what  happened  to  him.  He  says  he  was  one 
morning  at  St.  Peter's  with  his  clergy,  when  St.  Ccecilia  appeared  to  him  and 
reproached  him  for  giving  up  the  search  for  her  body,  saying  he  had  been  so  near 
to  her  in  the  chapel  in  which  he  had  been,  this  crypt  of  the  pontiffs,  that  he  could 
have  spoken  to  her,  face  to  face.  On  coming  to  himself  he  told  his  clergy  what  had 
happened.  They  proceeded  to  St.  Xystus  and  St.  Ca?cilia,  and  found  the  body  on 
the  other  side  of  the  wall  of  ^w/>f,  which  separates  the  crypt  from  that  of  St.  Ca?cila. 
She  was  m  a  sarcophagus,  richly  clad  in  a  robe  of  golden  tissue,  with  ornaments  of 
gold  upon  her  person;  the  delicate  body  lay  on  its  side,  her  head,  nearly  severed 
by  the  lictor's  axe  from  the  neck,  enveloped  in  a  light  veil  and  turned  to  one  side, 
the  face  downward,  while  her  arms  lay  naturally  with  the  hands  in  front,  one  hand 
with  one  finger  extended,  the  other  with  three — she  thus  professing  her  faith  in  one 
God  in  three  persons.  The  remains  were  reverently  taken  up  and  carried  to  her 
house  in  Rome,  across  the  Tiber,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  her  martyrdom,  which 
she  had  left  to  be  used  as  a  church,  and  deposited  under  the  high  altar.  There 
they  remained  until  Cardinal  Sfondrati,  in  the  year  1599,  by  permission  of  the 
Pope,  in  repairing  this  church,  opened  the  tomb  and  recognized  officially  the 
authenticity  of  the  relics.  The  urn  was  opened  in  the  presence  of  the  cardinal  and 
many  others,  among  whom  were  Bosio,  the  archieologist,  and  Maderno,  the  sculptor, 
who  made  the  beautiful  statue  of  St.  Cascilia,  so  much  admired,  which  is  now  under 
the  high  altar  of  the  church. 

Let  us  leave  this  place,  though  so  full  of  edifying  and  refreshing  memories,  to 
wend  our  way  through  the  labrynth  of  corridors.  Through  an  opening  in  the  side 
of  the  crypt,  we  find  ourselves  in  a  corridor  lined  on  one  side  and  the  other  with 
empty  loculi.  They  once  had  occupants;  the  marks  are  there  to  show  that — a  tile 
still  in  its  place  or  a  crumbling  bone.  Look  well  into  them,  and  see  the  nature  of 
the  rock;  how  the  mark  of  the  pick,  as  fresh  as  if  made  yesterday,  makes  it  evident 
that  it  yielded  easily  to  the  stroke.  Cold  and  heat  have  had  no  effect  on  it.  We 
are  too  far  underground  for  that.  W'e  pass  on.  Here  right  before  us  is  an  open  door- 
way. We  enter  and  find  ourselves  in  a  small  room  perhaps  ten  feet  square  and 
seven  in  height.  It  is  full  of  loculi.  But  the  ceiling  and  the  spaces  between  the 
burial  places  have  been  plastered  and  painted.  Over  your  head  you  see  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  Good  Shepherd,  so  often  met  with  in  the  catacombs.     At  your  left 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

on  I'ntering  you  see  on  the  wall  a  fresco-painting.  There  is  a  man  with  a  rod  in 
in  his  hand,  and  lie  is  striking  a  rock  from  which  water  is  flowing.  The  subject  is 
evidently  Scriptural.  It  recalls  Moses  striking  the  rock  in  the  desert.  But  it  is 
not  Moses.  The  very  opi)osition,  so  marked  in  the  New  Testament,  to  every 
Judaizing  spirit,  would  itself  exclude  the  frequently  recurring  figure  of  Moses. 
The  rod  in  the  hand,  typifying  power,  might  lead  one  to  think  it  might  be  the  pro- 
phet like  unto  Moses,  to  be  raised  up — Christ  Himself.  But  Christ  is  not  the  one 
who  strikes,  but  the  thing  struck;  for  St.  Paul  says:  "  They  all  drank  of  the  spir- 
itual rock  that  followed  them,  and  the  rock  was  Christ.  "  A  matter-of-fact  argu- 
ment helps  us  out  of  the  difticulty  and  tells  us  who  this  figure  is.  Discs  of  glass 
have  been  found  in  the  catacombs  at  the  tombs,  illuminated  by  gold  and  black, 
which  were  covered  over  with  a  second  plate  of  glass  and  annealed  in  a  furnace, 
so  as  to  hermetically  seal  the  edges  and  so  protect  the  figure.  .Several  have  come 
to  light  representing  this  picture  we  .see  before  us,  and  one  of  them  is  now  in  the 
Vatican  library.  Over  the  head  of  the  man  striking  the  rock  is  read  the  name 
Petrus,  Peter.  Peter  is  the  antitype  of  Moses;  he  is  the  leader  of  the  New  Dispen- 
sation. So  speaks  St.  Ephrem  of  Syria  in  his  sermon  on  the  transfiguration  on  the 
Mount.  Moses,  the  cLXonome  of  the  Father,  he  says,  saw  Peter,  the  procurator  of 
the  Son.    *    *    * 

Bishop  Chatard's  lectures,  each  being  complete  in  itself  and 
the  parts  much  dependent  upon  one  another,  ought  not  be  pre- 
sented except  as  a  whole.  The  selections  given  read  better  when 
read  with  the  whole  lecture  to  which  each  belongs. 


(131) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DIOCESE      OF      FORT      WAYNE  EARLY      TIMES FATHERS      CLAUDE 

ALLOUEZ ADRIAN    GRELON —  LEWIS     HENNEPIN  LA    SALLE, 

THE    EXPLORER FATHER    STEHHEN     THEODORE     BADIN THE 

DIOCESE    OF    BARDSTOWN,     KY. ,     ETC. 

IN  this  chapter  we  shall  record,  on  the  authority  of  John  Gilmary 
Shea  (The  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  Volume  I,  "  In 
Colonial  Days"),  the  little  that  is  known  about  some  of  the  early 
missionaries  whose  feet  trod  the  soil  of  what  is  now  northern  Indi- 
ana. These  missionaries  were  few,  and  were  more  given  to  doing 
God's  work  than  to  keeping  a  record  of  their  self-sacrificing  labors. 
Yet  such  of  them  as  belonged  to  the  order  of  Jesuits  were  obliged 
to  send  annually  an  account  of  their  work  to  the  general  of  the 
order  in  Rome,  and  these  relations  are  now  one  of  the  historian's 
sources  of  information,  and  from  these  relations  the  following  facts 
are  gleaned. 

EARLY    TIMES. 

Father  Claude  Allouez,  S.  J.,  was  born  in  France  at  Saint 
Didier  en  Forest,  and  studied  at  the  college  of  Puy  en  Velay, 
where  he  was  under  the  direction  of  St.  Francis  Regis.  Entering 
the  society  of  Jesus  with  one  of  his  brothers,  he  was  sent  to  Can- 
ada in  1658.  His  first  labors  were  near  Quebec,  but  he  left  there 
on  the  8th  of  August,  1665,  for  his  great  western  mission.  On  the 
following  first  of  September  he  reached  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  after 
a  brief  stay  at  St.  Teresa's  bay  landed,  on  the  first  of  October,  at 
Chegoimegon.  There  he  erected  his  bark  chapel,  dedicating  it  to 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  spot  taking  the  name  of  La  Pointe  du  Saint 
Esprit. 

The  population  of    Chegoimegon  was  a   motley  gathering  of 

(T32r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Indians  belonging  to  eight  different  tribes.  When  Father  Allouez 
arrived  in  their  midst  they  were  preparing  to  attack  the  Sioux.  He 
persuaded  them  to  hiy  aside  their  weapons,  and  to  remain  peace- 
fully in  their  wigwams.  Soon  the  news  of  the  chapel  he  had 
erected  spread,  and  Indians  came  from  various  parts  to  see  and 
hear  the  "black-gown;"  some  to  be  instructed,  others  to  mock 
and  jeer.  Others  brought  children  to  be  bapti^^ed,  and  some 
Hurons,  whose  ancestors  had  been  Catholics,  sought  to  revive  the 
faith  now  almost  extinct  in  their  hearts. 

The  medicine-men  were  the  missionaries'  great  enemies,  and 
early  in  1666  they  incited  the  Indians  of  a  neighboring  town,  where 
the  missionary  had  erected  a  chapel,  to  destroy  it  and  rob  him  of 
his  few  possessions.  He  was  forced  to  return  to  Chegoimegon, 
where  the  Hurons  proved  more  docile,  as  another  Jesuit,  Father 
Garnier,  had  instructed  them  in  the  faith.  Father  Allouez  bap- 
tized some  whom  that  saintly  missionary  had  instructed. 

The  Pottawatomies  at  La  Pointe  showed  better  dispositions  for 
conversion  than  the  OttaWas,  whereas  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  remained 
obstinate.  From  their  great  river  came  also  the  Illinois,  who 
listened  to  his  instructions  and  went  back  to  their  distant  home 
bearing  with  them  the  first  tidings  of  the  gospel. 

Bishop  Laval,  of  Quebec,  appointed  Father  Allouez  his  vicar- 
general  in  the  west,  the  document  attesting  his  first  ecclesias- 
tical act  relating  to  the  church  in  that  part  of  the  country.  It  is 
dated  July  21,  1663.  Father  Allouez  went  to  the  western  extrem- 
ity of  lake  Superior,  where  he  met  a  band  of  Sioux,  and  endeav- 
ored through  an  interpreter  to  preach  the  faith  to  them.  He 
learned  that  beyond  their  country  lay  the  Karezi,  after  which  their 
land  was  cut  off.  He  also  met  Kilistinons,  whose  language 
resembled  that  of  the  Montagnais  of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence.  In 
1667  he  penetrated  to  lake  Alimibegong,  where  he  revived  the 
faith  in  the  hearts  of  the  Nipissings,  whom  the  Fathers  of  the 
Huron  mission  had  formerly  instructed.  He  celebrated  the  feast 
of  Pentecost  among  them  in  a  chapel  made  of  branches,  but  with 
a  devout  and  attentive  Hock,  whose  piety  was  the  great  consola- 
tion of  his  laborious  ministry. 

The  Catholic  church  had  begun  her   work  on   lake  Superior 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

with  great  energy,  and  Father  Allouez,  who  by  this  time  had 
acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  whole  field  open  to  mission- 
ary labor,  descended  with  a  trading  flotilla,  in  the  summer  of  1667, 
to  lay  his  plans  before  his  superiors.  In  Quebec  he  spent  only 
two  days,  and  then  returned  with  an  associate.  Father  Louis  Nico- 
las, to  pass  through  the  hardships  of  the  long  and  dangerous  jour- 
ney. He  bore  with  him  a  pastoral  of  the  venerable  Bishop  Laval, 
whose  authority  he  had  invoked  to  aid  him  in  checking  the  unchris- 
tian lives  of  some  of  the  early  French  pioneers.  The  labors  of 
the  missionaries  found  other  obstacles  than  the  pagan  ideas  and 
practices  of  the  Indian  tribes.  The  bad  examples  of  some  fur- 
traders  who,  having  thrown  off  the  restraints  of  civilization,  plunged 
into  every  vice,  produced  a  most  unfavorable  impression  on  the 
Indians,  who  contrasted  it  with  the  high  morality  preached  by  the 
missionaries.  To  remove  the  scandal,  as  far  as  possible.  Father 
Allouez  appealed  to  Bishop  Laval.  The  following  is  probably  the 
first  official  act,  applying  directly  and  exclusively  to  the  church  in 
the  west. 

Francis,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  of  the  Holy  see,  Bishop  of  Petrasa,  vicar 
apostolic  in  New  France,  and  nominated,  by  the  king,  bishop  of  said  country:  To 
our  well-beloved  Fr.  Claude  Allouez,  superior  of  the  Mission  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus  among  the  Ottawas,  health: 

On  the  report  which  we  have  received  of  the  disorder  prevailing  in  your  mis- 
sions in  regard  to  the  French  who  go  thither  to  trade,  and  who  do  not  hesitate  to 
take  part  in  all  the  profane  feasts  held  there  by  the  pagans,  sometimes  with  great 
scandal  to  their  souls,  and  not  to  the  edification  which  they  ought  to  give  to  the 
Christian  converts,  we  enjoin  you  to  take  in  hand  that  they  shall  never  be  present 
when  these  feasts  are  manifestly  idolatrous,  and  in  case  they  do  to  the  contrary  of 
what  you  decide  ought  to  be  done  or  not  to  be  done  on  this  point,  to  threaten  them 
with  censures  if  they  do  not  return  to  their  duty,  and,  in  case  of  contumacy,  to  pro- 
ceed according  to  your  prudence  and  discretion,  as  also  towards  those  who  are 
given  in  an  extraordinary  degree  to  scandalous  impurity,  to  act  in  the  same  manner. 

Given  at  Quebec,  this  6th  day  of  August,  1667. 

Francis,  Bishop  of  Petrtea. 

The  mission  stations  in  charge  of  Father  Allouez  and  his  Jesuit 
brethren  were  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  La  Pointe  du  St.  Esprit  at 
Chagoimegon,  each  provided  with  a  chapel.  At  the  last  mission, 
about  this  time,  bands  of  a  very  great  number  of  tribes  had  gath- 
ered, flying  from  the  war  parties  of  the  Iroquois,  which  had  car- 
ried desolation   around  the    shores  of  lake    Michigan,   as    of    old 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

amid  the  nations  seated  on  lake  Huron.  This  gave  Father  Allouez 
an  opportunity  to  announce  the  faith  to  many  tribes,  to  obtain  a 
knowledge  of  their  language,  and  the  routes  leading  to  their  coun- 
try. The  Iroquois  were  the  great  obstacle,  and  peace  with  them 
was  essential.  The  Ottawas  (Queues  Coupees)  at  La  Pointe, 
among  whom  he  labored  two  or  three  years,  showing  little  sign  of 
conversion.  Father  Allouez  at  last  announced  his  determination  to 
leave  them  and  go  to  the  Sault,  where  the  people  showed  docility. 
Finding  him  in  earnest,  the  chiefs  called  a  council  in  the  autumn 
of  1665.  There  they  decided  to  put  an  end  to  polygamy,  to  abol- 
ish all  offering  to  the  Manitous,  and  not  to  take  part  in  the  heathen 
rites  of  the  tribes  that  had  gathered  around  them.  The  change 
was  sudden,  but  sincere.  The  whole  tribe  became  Christians,  and, 
by  its  numbers  and  love  of  peace,  gave  great  hopes  for  the  glory 
of  the  church. 

To  obtain  more  missionaries  and  means  to  establish  stations 
at  Green  Bay  and  other  points,  Father  Allouez,  in  1669,  went 
to  Quebec,  taking  several  Iroquois  whom  he  had  rescued,  and 
through  whom  he  hoped  to  effect  a  peace  between  the  Five  Nations 
and  the  western  tribes.      This  happy  result  followed. 

In  November,  1670,  Father  Allouez  set  out  in  canoes  of  the 
Pottawatomies,  accompanied  by  two  Frenchmen,  and,  amid  storms 
and  snow,  toiled  on  till  they  reached  lake  Michigan.  Skirting  its 
shores  they  arrived  at  Green  bay  on  December  3,  the  feast  of  St. 
Francis  Xavier.  The  next  day  Father  Allouez  celebrated  the  first 
mass  in  that  part,  which  was  attended  by  eight  Frenchmen.  A 
motley  village  of  600  Indians,  Sacs,  Foxes,  Pottawatomies  and 
Winnebagoes,  had  gathered  here  to  winter,  and  similar  groups 
were  scattered  at  intervals  around  the  bay.  The  missionary  spent 
the  winter  announcing  the  gospel,  first  to  the  Sacs,  instructing 
them  and  teaching  them  to  pray,  having  adapted  the  Algonquin, 
Our  Father  and  Hail  Mary  to  their  dialect.  In  February  he  vis- 
ited the  Pottawatomies,  convening  the  chiefs  and  then  visiting 
each  cabin.  In  both  villages  all  sick  children  were  baptized,  and 
adults  in  danger  were  instructed  and  prepared  for  death.  The 
winter  wore  away  before  he  had  made  a  thorough  visitation  of  all 


(135) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

these  villages,  and,  to  his  regret,  he  saw  them  begin  to  scatter. 
He  had  lived  on  Indian  corn  and  acorns,  had  toiled  and  suffered, 
yet  could  feel  that  something  had  been  accomplished.  In  April  he 
ascended  the  Fox  river,  passed  a  Sac  village  with  its  fish  weir, 
passed  Kakalin  rapids,  threaded  Winnebago  lake,  and  kept  on  till 
he  reached  the  crowded  town  of  the  Foxes,  where  he  was  greeted 
as  a  Manitou.  The  chiefs  came  to  the  council  he  convened,  and 
there  he  explained  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity,  the 
commandments  of  God,  the  rewards  and  punishments  of  eternity. 
He  consoled  them  for  their  recent  losses  at  the  hands  of  the  merci- 
less Iroquois.  They  responded  at  a  later  council,  and  urged  him 
to  remain  to  instruct  them.  Thus  began  the  mission  of  St.  Mark, 
so  named  from  the  day  of  its  first  work. 

Then  he  took  to  his  canoe  again,  and,  returning  to  lake  Win- 
nebago, ascended  Wolf  river  to  the  Mascoutin  fort.  Here  he 
found  a  tribe  ready  to  welcome  a  missionary.  Returning  from 
this  excursion  he  found  that  by  a  short  portage  he  could  reach  the 
great  river  Messi-sipi.  He  visited  the  Menomenees,  with  their  cor- 
rupt Algonquin,  and  the  Winnebagoes,  whose  language,  of  the 
Dakota  stock,  was  utterly  unlike  any  language  he  had  yet  heard. 
He  set. to  work  to  study  it,  and  to  translate  the  Lord's  prayer 
and  the  Angelical  salutation,  with  a  brief  catechism,  into  their 
language.  Such  was  the  first  announcement  of  Christianity  in  the 
heart  of  Wisconsin. 

Father  Allouez  continued  his  labors  around  Green  bay,  greatly 
encouraged  by  his  reception  among  the  bands  of  Miamis  and  of 
Illinois  near  the  Mascoutin  fort.  The  gentle  and  sweet  disposition 
of  the  great  chief  of  the  Illinois  won  the  heart  of  the  missionary, 
who  built  great  hopes  on  the  favor  of  one  who  could  unite  these 
traits  with  that  of  great  valor  in  war.  Father  Allouez  planted  his 
little  house  and  chapel  at  the  Rapids  des  Peres,  from  which  he 
attended  the  tribes  on  the  rivers  beyond  the  missionary  station, 
whilst  his  companion.  Father  Andre,  attended  the  tribes  on  Green 
bay. 

In  October,  1676,  Father  Allouez  set  out  from  Green  bay  to 
proceed  to  Kaskaskia,  where  Father  Marquette  had  founded  a  mis- 
sion, but  winter  set  in  so  suddenly  that  he  could    not    proceed   till 

.(mT 


IN    THli    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

February.  When  he  reached  Kaskaskia,  at  the  close  of  April,  he 
planted  a  cross,  and  began  his  labors. 

Father  Claude  Allouez  closed  his  long  labors  by  a  happy  death 
on  the  27th  or  28th  of  August,  1689,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of 
his  age,  having  been  nearly  thirty  years  on  the  mission  around  lake 
Superior  and  lake  Michigan,  which  he  had  created.  There  is  suf- 
ficient evidence  of  his  visits  to  the  country  now  comprised  in  north- 
ern Indiana  to  claim  for  him  the  credit  of  being  its  pioneer  mis- 
sionary. 

Of  Father  Adrian  Grelon,  S.  J.,  who  probably  visited  north- 
ern Indiana,  we  find  the  following  in  the  United  States  Historical 
Magazine,   1893: 

The  labors  and  sacrifices  of  the  French  Jesuits  in  North  America  during  the 
seventeenth  century  have  never  failed  to  awaken  admiration  and  interest.  Among 
these  heroic  men  was  a  certain  Father  Adrian  Grelon.  He  was  appointed  to  the 
missions  among  the  Hurons,  a  great  tribe  living  between  lake  Erie  and  lake  Huron. 
In  time  the  Hurons  were  almost  exterminated  by  the  five  Iroquois  nations  of  New 
York,  who  had  obtained  firearms  from  the  Dutch.  The  surviving  missionaries 
accompanied  a  band  who  went  down  to  Quebec.  Father  Grelon  was  sent  back  to 
France.  There  he  solicited  the  Chinese  mission,  and  set  out  for  the  far  east.  It 
is  probable  that  he  crossed  Spain  to  take  passage  at  some  S]ianish  or  Portuguese 
port,  and  on  the  way,  to  his  astonishment,  discovered  in  a  Spanish  convent  an 
Iroquois  who  had  been  sent  to  Spain,  educated  and  ordained  as  a  priest.  On  reach- 
ing China,  Father  Grelon  was  stationed  at  different  missions,  and  labored  with 
zeal.  He  wrote  a  book  on  China,  which  is  a  curious  addition  to  the  Jesuit  relations 
of  Canada,  being  by  an  old  Canadian  missionary.  In  time  he  penetrated  Chinese 
Tartary,  and  there,  to  his  great  surprise,  found  in  one  of  the  camps  a  Huron  woman 
whom  he  had  known  in  America.  She  had  been  sold  as  a  slave  from  tribe  to  tribe 
till  she  reached  that  jilace.  Father  Grelon  reported  this  strange  circumstance  to 
his  superiors  and  to  the  learned  of  Europe,  and  was  the  first  to  afford  any  proof 
that  -America  and  Asia  at  the  north  approached  very  closely,  as  was  afterwards 
found  by  navigators  to  be  the  fact. 

The  Franciscan  Father  Lewis  Hennepin,  the  explorer  of  the 
Mississippi,  whose  travels  are  described  by  himself  in  a  work 
written  for  his  friends  in  Europe,  in  his  explorations  must  have 
touched  the  northern  part  of  what  is  now  the  state  of  Indiana,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  following  condensed  account: 

Father  Lewis  Hennepin,  a  native  of  Holland,  joined  the 
Recollect  branch  of  the  Franciscan  order,  and  belonged  to  the 
province  of  Paris,  France.      It  was,  as  he  himself  says,  the  perusal 

~(T37) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  the  accounts  of  the  operations  and  voyages  of  the  missionaries 
of  his  order  which  awakened  in  him  a  desire  to  follow  in  their  foot- 
steps, and  he  was  especially  charmed  with  the  narrative  of  the 
missions  in  America,  which,  according  to  the  statistics  of  the  general 
chapter  of  the  year  1621,  had  made  500  converts.  In  1676  he 
was  sent  by  his  superiors  as  a  missionary  to  Canada.  He  began 
his  first  labors  at  the  source  of  the  St.  Lawrence  river  at  the  foot 
of  Lake  Ontario,  where  he  founded  a  church  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Frontenac.  His  genius  was  rather  adapted  to  make  grand  explor- 
ations and  discoveries  than  to  be  restricted  to  a  stationary  life. 
Leaving  Fort  Frontenac  on  the  5th  of  December,  1678,  he  sailed 
up  lake  Ontario  to  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara  river,  in  a  bark  of 
ten  tons  burden,  the  grandest  that  had  hitherto  navigated  these 
waters.  Here  further  progress  was  obstructed  by  the  great  falls 
of  Niagara,  and  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  European  to 
look  upon  this  stupendous  prodigy  of  nature. 

Father  Hennepin  and  his  sixteen  companions  chanted  the  Te 
Deum  in  thanksgiving,  and  on  the  iith  of  the  same  month  he 
offered  up  the  holy  sacrifice  the  first  time  in  sight  of  the  great  falls. 
They  were  now  obliged  to  construct  another  vessel,  at  some  point 
above  the  cataract,  in  order  to  continue  their  voyage  on  the  waters 
of  lake  Erie,  and  Father  Hennepin  had  to  carry  his  missionary 
outfit  on  his  shoulders,  around  the  falls,  a  distance  of  some  twelve 
miles.  They  commenced  constructing  a  new  vessel  at  the  mouth 
of  a  small  stream,  in  the  Niagara  river,  about  five  miles  above  the 
Falls,  and  the  thousands  who  now  yearly  pass  along  the  railroad 
from  Buffalo  to  Niagara  may  hear  the  conductor,  as  he  nears  this 
locality,  call  out  "  La  Salle"  for  the  stream,  and  the  place  still 
bears  the  name  of  this  companion  of  Hennepin.  The  \essel  being 
completed,  it  was  blessed  according  to  the  Roman  ritual,  and 
launched  on  the  waters  of  the  Niagara,  accompanied  with  three 
salutes  of  cannon,  the  chanting  of  the  Te  Deum  and  shouts  of  joy. 

Before  proceeding  on  his  voyage,  Hennepin  returned  to  Fron- 
tenac, and  procured  theassistance  of  Fathers  Gabriel  de  la  Ribourde, 
Valentine  Le  Roux  and  Zenobius  Membre.  Father  Milithon 
accompanied  them  to  Niagara,  where  he  remained.  All  things 
being  now  in  order,  on  the  7th  of  August,   1679,  the   little  vessel,. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Griffon,  having  on  board  the  missionaries,  La  Salle  and  twenty- 
eight  others,  entered  the  waters  of  lake  Erie  and  sailed  to  the 
westward.  The  Te  Deum  was  again  chanted,  and  the  discharge  of 
their  artillery  of  seven  cannon  astonished  the  savages.  They  were 
then  opposite  the  place  where  now  stands  Buffalo. 

The  Griffon  was  the  first  vessel  which  navigated  the  waters  of 
lake  Erie,  and  being  sixty  tons  must  have  appeared  of  surprising 
dimensions  to  the  Indians,  accustomed  only  to  their  small  canoes. 
The  first  cape  which  they  discovered  was  named  St.  Francis.  On 
the  I  ith  of  August,  they  entered  the  strait  which  joins  lakes  Erie 
and  Huron,  and  as  it  extends  itself  midway,  so  as  to  form  a  small 
lake,  was  named  St.  Clair,  which  name  it  still  retains.  On  the 
23d  of  August,  they  reached  lake  Huron,  in  the  vicinity  of  which 
the  Recollects  had  carried  the  light  of  the  gospel  more  than  halt  a 
century  before.  Here  another  Te  Deum  was  sung  in  thanksgiving 
for  the  happy  navigation  of  unknown  waters  and  dangerous  pass- 
ages. Not  being  able  to  proceed  further  on  lake  Superior  on 
account  of  the  falls  of  St.  Mary,  they  passed  to  the  Lake  of  the 
Illinois,  now  lake  Michigan. 

Contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  missionaries,  La  Salle  now 
wished  to  send  the  vessel  back,  loaded  with  skins,  in  order  to  pay 
some  debts;  but  it  was  wrecked,  as  is  supposed,  before  proceeding 
very  far.  The}'  were  now  compelled  to  continue  their  explorations 
in  canoes,  and,  passing  by  many  incidents,  we  note  that  in  the  pass- 
age from  the  lake  to  the  Illinois  river,  they  were  obliged  to  make  a 
journey  of  three  leagues  by  land,  carrying  their  baggage  on  their 
shoulders.  On  reaching  the  river  they  erected  a  fort,  which  they 
named  Crevecceur,  on  account  of  the  distress  which  they  had  suffered 
by  the  desertion  of  a  portion  of  the  company.  Here  they  awaited 
for  some  time  the  return  of  the  Griffon,  but  she  never  came,  and 
La  Salle  resolved  to  continue  the  exploration,  with  the  understand- 
ing that  when  he  reached  the  Mississippi  he  should  turn  to 
the  north. 

Father  Hennepin,  having  as  his  companions  Anthony  Augille 
and  Michael  Ako,  set  out  in  a  canoe  on  the  28th  of  February, 
1680,  leaving  at  Fort  Crevecoenr  Fathers  Zenobius  and  Gabriel. 
After  eight  days  they  entered  the  Mississippi,  but  instead  of  turn- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ing  to  the  north,  according  to  the  desire  of  La  Salle,  who  sought 
for  himself  the  glory  of  exploring  those  regions,  Hennepin  was 
obliged,  by  the  threats  of  his  companions,  to  proceed  first  to  the 
south,  and  then  return  to  the  north.  On  the  21st  of  March  they 
encountered  a  tribe  of  Indians,  called  Taenzes,  who  treated  them 
with  great  respect  and  kindness,  and  having  passed  the  calumet  of 
peace,  with  signs  of  joy,  they  commenced  to  pay  them  the  same 
honors  which  they  rendered  their  chiefs.  They  also  kissed  Father 
Hennepin's  habit,  whence  it  was  concluded  that  these  Indians  had 
some  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  Franciscans  in  New  Mexico,  in 
whose  vicinity  they  now  supposed  themselves  to  be.  They  halted 
on  the  23d  of  March,  which  was  Easter  Sunday,  and  not  being  able 
to  celebrate  mass  for  want  of  wine,  they  kept  the  solemnity  with 
pious  devotions.  Continuing  their  voyage,  they  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  where  they  found  no 
inhabitants  whatever.  Hennepin  desired  to  remain  here  for  some 
time  in  order  to  make  observations,  but  his  two  companions,  who 
cared  little  for  such  researches,  obliged  him  to  return.  They  raised 
a  large  cross  of  wood,  twelve  feet  high,  to  which  Hennepin 
attached  his  name  and  the  names  of  his  companions,  together  with 
a  short  account  of  the  voyage,  and,  kneeling,  they  sang  the  hymn 
of  the  holy  cross,    Vexilla  Regis  prodcunt. 

In  the  beginning  of  April  they  began  to  ascend  the  Mississippi, 
and  for  twelve  days  met  with  no  mishap,  being  kindly  treated  by 
the  different  tribes  of  Indians  along  the  river;  but  the  thirteenth 
was  an  unfortunate  day  for  Father  Hennepin.  He  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  a  band  of  Sioux  Indians  and  marched  off  to  a  neighboring 
village,  where  the  Mississippi  ceases  to  be  navigable,  on  account 
of  the  falls,  which  he  named  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  in  honor  of 
the  great  saint  of  his  order  under  whose  protection  the  expedition 
had  been  placed.  He  was  kept  a  prisoner  for  three  months,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  suffered  much  from  the  savages,  and  was  more 
than  once  in  danger  of  being  put  to  death.  Yet,  he  did  not  fail  to 
preach  the  great  truths  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  his  slight  knowl- 
edge of  the  language  would  permit,  and  was  at  last  in  some  meas- 
ure consoled  by  being  able  to  secure  the  salvation  of  at  least  one 
soul,  having  baptized  a  dying  infant,  to  whom  he  gave  the  name  of 

(HOT 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Antoinette,  in  honor  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua.  Finally,  in  the 
month  of  July,  he  was  released  from  his  captivity  by  the  exertions 
of  Duluth,  who  had  the  previous  year  explored  the  country  of  the 
Sioux  and  contracted  friendship  with  them.  On  his  return  to 
Quebec,  his  religious  brethren  were  greatly  astonished.  They  had 
been  informed  of  his  death  more  than  two  years  before,  and  had 
celebrated  his  obsequies  with  a  requiem  mass. 

La  Salle,  the  foremost  pioneer  of  the  great  west,  recognized 
the  Wabash  river  as  the  great  highway  of  western  discovery.  This 
is  implied  in  his  letters  to  Count  Frontenac,  written  in  the  year 
1682  or  1683,  wherein  he  states  that  the  route  by  the  Maumee 
and  Wabash  rivers  was  the  most  direct  way  to  the  Mississippi. 
France  claimed,  under  the  title  of  New  France,  the  entire  valley 
of  the  Mississippi— everything  west  of  the  Alleghanies — a  claim 
which  gave  rise  to  the  French  and  Indian  war,  wherein  Washino-- 
ton  gained  his  first  laurels  as  a  commander,  and  which  closed  with 
the  treaty  of  Paris.  Now  the  military  commanders  gave  way  to 
the  traders,  and  through  the  great  valleys  of  the  west  the  mer- 
chant and  the  priest  went  forth  together. 

The  first  trading  post  was  at  Fort  Wayne,  the  next  at  Vin- 
cennes,  then,  in  subsequent  years,  came  others  between  them, 
notably  that  of  Ouiatenon,  ten  miles  south  of  the  present  city  of 
LaFayette.  On  the  west  bank  of  the  Wabash  was  also  another, 
about  three  miles  north  of  the  site  of  the  city.  By  the  treaty  of 
peace,  the  Northwestern  territory  was  not  recognized  as  part  of 
the  United  States,  but  continued  to  be  New  Fra-nce. 

The  first  western  American-born  priest  was  born  below  the 
city  of  LaFayette,  at  the  then  Fort  Ouiatenon.  His  name  was 
Anthony  Foucher.  He  was  ordained  on  the  30th  of  October, 
1774,  for  the  diocese  of  Quebec. 

The  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction]of  all  this  western  world  resided 
in  the  diocese  of  Quebec.  Under,  this  jurisdiction  the  territory  of 
Indiana  continued  to  remain  until  the  year  1808.  In  that  year, 
by  a  decree  of  Pope  Pius  VII,  the]see>f  [Bardstown,  Ky.,  was 
constituted,  the  boundaries  of  which  embraced  the  territory  of 
Indiana.  It  extended  northward  to  lake-Michigan  and  lake  Supe- 
rior,   and    westward    to    the    Mississippi  river.      Through  gradual 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

changes  its  area  was  limited  by  political  and  ecclesiastical  legisla- 
tion. In  1816  Indiana  was  admitted  to  the  Union  under  an  act  of 
congress  defining  its  present  boundaries,  but  it  was  not  until  eight 
years  afterward  that  it  was  established  as  a  separate  diocese. 

The  year  1834  brought  the  appointment  of  Bishop  Brute  as 
the  first  bishop  of  Vincennes.  His  name  worthily  begins  the  series 
of  prelates  to  whom,  by  Divine  Providence,  the  spiritual  interests 
of  Indiana  were  confided.  He  succumbed  to  the  rigors  of  the 
seasons  and  the  burdens  which  his  own  tireless  industry  brought 
upon  him,  yielding  his  soul  to  heaven  on  the  26th  of  June,  1839, 
and  leaving  to  earth  his  illustrious  example  and  his  revered  name. 

His  successor  was  Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere.  consecrated 
bishop  of  Vincennes  in  1839,  at  Paris,  France.  He  resigned  in 
1847,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  John  S.  Bazin,  conse- 
crated on  October  24  of  the  same  year.  His  promising  adminis- 
tration was  cut  short  by  death  on  April  28,   1848. 

The  Right  Rev.  James  Maurice  d'Aussac  de  Saint  Palais, 
fourth  bishop  of  Vincennes,  like  all  the  early  bishops  of  Indiana, 
had  his  origin  in  the  fair  land  of  France.  Born  there  in  181 1,  he 
entered  the  Sulpician  seminary,  in  Paris,  in  1830,  and  was 
ordained  priest  in  1836.  In  the  same  year  he  came  to  America  at 
the  invitation  of  Bishop  Brute.  Successful  in  church  work  in 
southern  Indiana,  he  was,  in  the  year  1839,  sent  to  Chicago.  He 
had  to  face  a  hard  task  there;  persevering,  however,  he  built  St. 
Mary's  church,  which  later  became  the  first  cathedral  of  that  city. 
Afterward,  successfully  stationed  at  Logansport  and  Madison,  he 
became  vicar-general,  and  in  the  year  1849  was  consecrated 
bishop.  He  induced  the  settlement  of  the  Benedictines,  Francis- 
cans and  other  orders  in  Indiana.  An  ardent,  laborious,  indefati- 
gable prelate,  it  was  through  his  extensive  travels  and  correspond- 
ence that  the  zealous  and  wealthy  Catholics  of  France  and  other 
European  countries  first  came  to  the  banks  of  the  Wabash  and  its 
tributaries.      He  died  June  28,   1877. 

The  Jesuit  missionaries  that  may  have  visited  Fort  Wayne 
when  it  was  a  mere  trading  post  have  left  no  record  of  their  labors. 
The  few  Catholics  that  resided  there  were  visited,  for  the  first  time 
on  record,  on  the  istof  June.  1830.  by  the  Rev.  Stephen  Theodore 

<T42r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Badin,  the  first  priest  ordained  in  the  United  States.  At  that  time 
the  state  of  Indiana  was  within  the  Hmits  of  the  diocese  of  Bards- 
town  (now  of  Louisville),  Ky.,  the  bishop  of  which  was  the  Right 
Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  consecrated  November  4,  18 10. 

Stephen  Theodore  Badin  was  born  in  Orleans,  France,  on  the 
17th  of  July,  1768.  He  early  developed  mental  gifts  that  were 
regarded  by  his  parents  as  extraordinary,  and  they  determined  to 
give  him  a  classical  education.  When  of  the  proper  age,  he  was 
sent  to  the  college  Montaigu,  Paris,  where  he  remained  for  three 
years,  and  where  he  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  classical 
literature.  In  the  year  1789,  having  determined  to  devote  himself 
to  the  sacred  ministry,  he  entered  the  Sulpician  seminary  at 
Orleans,  where  he  remained  until  the  establishment  was  dissolved 
two  years  later.  Three  months  later  we  find  young  Badin  sailing 
the  sea  on  his  way  to  America.  He  came  in  the  company  of  Rev. 
Benedict  Joseph  Flaget  and  Rev.  John  B.  David,  both  of  whom 
later  attained  the  episcopal  dignity  in  Kentucky. 

They  reached  Philadelphia  on  the  26th,  and  Baltimore  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1792.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1793,  the  old  cathe- 
dral church  of  St.  Peter's,  Baltimore,  was  the  scene  of  an  interest- 
ing ceremony — the  first  of  the  kind  that  had  taken  place  in  the 
United  States.  On  that  day,  and  in  the  church  named,  Stephen 
Theodore  Badin  was  raised  by  Bishop  Carroll  to  the  dignity  of  the 
priesthood.  He  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Carroll  to  the  missions 
in  Kentucky,  who  gave  him  for  a  companion  the  Rev.  M.  Barrieres, 
an  older  and  more  experienced  priest,  and  appointed  the  latter 
vicar-general  for  the  remote  district. 

Father  Badin  remained  in  Kentucky  till  181 9.  His  labors 
there  fill  a  bright  page  in  the  history  of  the  American  Catholic 
missions,  but  the  subject  is  foreign  to  this  sketch.  In  the  year 
named  he  returned  to  France,  where  he  remained  till  the  summer 
of  1828,  when  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  reaching  New 
York  about  July  of  that  year,  whence  he  went  to  Detroit  to  visit 
his  brother,  the  Rev.  Vincent  Badin,  then  assistant  of  the  pastor, 
the  Rev.  Gabriel  Richard.  Over  what  length  of  time  this  visit 
extended  we  have  no  information,  but  we  find  him  in  Kentucky  in 
the  fall  of  1829,  and  the  early  months  of  the  following  year.      It  is 

9  ~(143) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  occupied  some  months  in  revisiting 
the  scenes  of  his  early  missionary  career,  and  that  for  weeks 
together  he  was  the  honored  guest  of  one  or  another  of  his  French 
compatriots  in  the  villages  of  Shippingsport  and  Portland,  near 
Louisville. 

In  August  or  September  of  the  year  1830,  Father  Badin  went 
to  Cincinnati,  where  he  stayed  with  the  bishop.  Right  Rev. 
Edward  Fenwick.  It  was  probably  during  this  visit  that  he 
arranged  with  this  prelate  to  take  charge  of  the  Pottawatomie 
Indian  mission,  on  St.  Joseph's  river,  Ind.  Hastening  to  Michi- 
gan, he  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  in  Detroit  a  most  efficient 
co-worker.  Miss  Campau,  who  was  not  only  familiar  with  the 
Pottawatomie  dialect,  but  who  had  already  spent  many  years  of 
her  life  in  a  nobly  sustained  endeavor  to  christianize  that  particular 
tribe  of  Indians.  The  two  reached  the  seat  of  their  future  labors 
in  August,  1830,  where  they  entered  at  once  upon  their  task  of 
Christian  charity.  The  abandoned  Protestant  mxissionary  buildings 
were  transformed  into  a  church  and  school-house,  and  the  young 
and  old  of  the  tribe  were  taught  reverence  for  God  and  his  com- 
mandments and  precepts,  and  to  speak  and  read  English,  besides 
their  own  language.  Father  Badin's  connection  with  the  Potta- 
watomie mission,  interrupted  by  occasional  visits  to  the  surround- 
ing settlements  of  whites  in  Indiana,  Michigan  and  Ohio,  extended 
from  the  summer  of  1830  to  the  spring  of  1836.  Logansport, 
South  Bend  and  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  were  regularly  visited  by  him 
during  the  entire  term  of  his  pastorate  among  the  Pottawatomies. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  here  give  a  copy  from  his  own  hand-writ- 
ing of  the  record  of  a  baptism  and  burial,  the  first  on  record  in  the 
church  annals  of  Fort  Wayne.  The  record  of  baptism  is  trans- 
lated from  the  French,  and  reads  as  follows: 

Fort  Wayne,  Diocese  of  Bardstown. 
On  the  23d  day  of  January,  1831,  I,  the  undersigned  missionary  priest,  bap- 
tized Peter  David,  born  the  5th  of  October,  1830,  of  the  civil  marriage  of  Peter 
Gibaud  and  Mary  Gibaud.     The  sponsors  are  John   Ikiptist  Becket  and  Theresa 
Duret,  his  wife.  Stki'H.  Theod.  Badin, 

V.  G.  of  Bardstown  and  Cincinnati. 


(144) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

His  first  record  of  burial  is  translated  from  the  Latin  and  is 
as  follows: 

On  the  23d  day  of  January,  1884,  I  gave  Christian  burial  to  Richard  Doyle, 
aged  40  years,  a  Hibernian  from  the  diocese  of  Ferns,  who  died  suddenly  the  day 
previous,  six  miles  from  this  village.  Stephen  Theodokk  Badin, 

Missionary  Apostolic, 
Vicar-General  of  Bardstown. 

On  one  of  his  visits  to  Fort  Wayne,  Father  Badin  induced  a 
Mr.  Colerick,  afterwards  a  well  known  lawyer  of  that  city,  to 
accompany  him  on  a  visit  he  proposed  making  to  an  Indian 
encampment,  most  likely  of  the  Ottawas,  immediately  south  of 
lake  Michigan.  Arrived  at  their  destination  they  found  that  the 
males  of  the  tribe  were  out  hunting.  These  soon  returned,  how- 
ever, bringing  with  them  as  many  pigeons  as  they  could  well  carry. 
A  large  kettle  was  placed  over  the  fire,  and  into  it  went  the 
pigeons,  feathers  and  all.  When  portions  of  the  mess  were  set 
before  the  visiting  strangers,  Father  Badin  began  to  eat  with 
apparent  indifference  to  the  primitive  mode  of  cooking  to  which 
the  food  had  been  subjected.  Not  so 'his  companion,  whose  more 
fastidious  stomach  was  in  open  revolt  against  the  part  he  was 
expected  to  take  in  the  performance.  Observing  his  hesitation, 
Father  Badin  said  to  him:  "Do  not  irritate  and  insult  the  red 
men;  we  might  suffer  from  it.  Strip  the  feathers  from  the  legs  and 
you  will  find  them  eatable."  Mr.  Colerick  took  the  priest's  advice 
and  managed  to  escape  censure  for  breach  of  savage  etiquette. 

Of  the  details  of  Father  Badin's  labors  among  tne  Pottawato- 
mies  little  is  known  at  the  present  time.  That  his  ministrations 
were  effective  of  manifold  blessings  to  his  charge  is  beyond  ques- 
tion. That  his  own  bodily  energies  were  correspondingly  weakened 
by  the  excess  of  his  labors  is  equally  certain.  After  five  years  of 
unremitting  toil  he  found  himself  in  such  a  state  of  physical  pros- 
tration as  to  render  him  incapable  of  performing  his  pastoral  duties 
with  any  degree  of  efficiency.  Under  the  circumstances  he  could 
but  ask  to  be  relieved,  and  his  bishop  could  do  no  less  than  sanc- 
tion his  retiracy. 

It  was  more  than  ten  years  after  his  withdrawal  from  the  Potta- 
watomie mission  that  Father  Badin  was  again  given  charge  of  a 

"(145) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

congregation.  His  history  during  these  years  is  that  of  a  chartered 
peripatetic,  free  to  go  whither  he  would,  to  labor  wherever  and 
whenever  there  was  work  to  be  done,  and  to  nurse  his  infirmities 
when  he  needed  rest.  Now  Ohio  was  the  theater  of  his  spasmodic 
missionary  efforts,  now  Kentucky  and  now  Indiana.  By  the  clergy 
everywhere,  both  bishops  and  priests,  he  was  treated  with  marked 
consideration  and  respect.  The  same  is  to  be  said  of  the  laity, 
and  especially  of  such  among  them  as  had  formerly  profited  by  his 
instructions.  Restless  by  nature  and  restless  by  force  of  habit,  he 
was  at  one  time  to  be  seen  taking  charge  of  a  congregation  in  the 
temporary  absence  of  the  pastor;  at  another  dividing  the  labors  of 
an  overtaxed  priest,  and,  at  still  another,  rejoicing  the  hearts  of  a 
community  of  religious  by  making  it  possible  for  its  members  to 
hear  daily  mass,  for  a  brief  while  at  least.  He  had  no  need  for  an 
introduction,  whether  to  priests  or  people.  No  matter  where  he 
was  led  by  the  spirit  of  unrest  that  seemed  to  govern  all  his  move- 
ments, he  found  personal  recognition  from  some,  and  hearty  wel- 
come from  all.  This  was  especially  the  case  in  Kentucky,  where 
many  were  still  living  to  whom  he  had  formerly  borne  the  relation 
of  pastor.  For  the  greater  part  of  the  year  1836,  and  most  likely 
for  the  early  months  of  1837,  his  nominal  residence  was  Cincinnati. 

Some  time  during  the  year  1837,  through  the  solicitations, 
most  likely,  of  Bishop  Flaget  and  his  coadjutor.  Dr.  Chabrat, 
Father  Badin  renewed  his  connection  with  the  diocese  of  Bards- 
town,  and  accepted  at  their  hands  the  office  of  vicar-general.  This 
position  was  proffered  to  him,  no  doubt,  with  no  idea  that  he  would 
be  able  to  attend  to  its  duties,  but  out  of  regard  for  him  as  a  most 
deserving  priest,  and  in  recognition  of  his  past  services  to  the  Cath- 
olic people  of  Kentucky.  Up  to  the  date  of  his  relinquishment  of 
the  office,  two  years  later,  his  nominal  residence  was  Bardstown, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if,  whether  during  the  period  named  or  the  six 
years  of  his  after  connection  with  the  diocese,  he  considered  him- 
self or  was  considered  by  others,  a  resident  of  any  particular  local- 
ity in  the  state. 

From  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1842  to  the  fall  of  1846, 
though  nominally  attached  to  the  diocese  ot  Bardstown,  whose  see 
had  been  removed  to  Louisville  in  1841,  Father  Badin  spent  most 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

of  his  time  in  Indiana,  Ohio,  Michigan  and  Ilhnois.  He  made 
long  visits  to  South  Bend,  and  to  other  towns  and  villages  contig- 
uous to  the  great  northern  lakes.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1843, 
fifty  years  from  the  date  of  his  ordination.  Father  Badin  celebrated 
his  golden  jubilee  in  Lexington,  Ky. ,  where,  in  the  first  year  of  his 
priesthood,  he  offered  up  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass  for  the  first 
time  in  the  state  named. 

In  September,  1846,  the  aged  missionary  again  severed  his 
connection  with  the  Kentucky  mission,  and  accepted  the  pastorship 
of  the  congregation  of  Bourbonnais  Grove,  Kankakee  county,  111.^ 
in  the  diocese  of  Chicago. 

Much  enfeebled  by  age,  Father  Badin  returned  to  Kentucky 
some  time  in  the  winter  of  1848-49.  His  idea,  it  is  generally 
supposed,  was  to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  life  where  he  had 
achieved  the  greatest  of  his  missionary  triumphs.  To  the  venera- 
ble Bishop  Flaget,  who  was  now  an  invalid,  and  evidently  nearing 
the  end  of  his  days  on  earth,  the  presence  of  his  old  friend  was  a 
source  of  great  joy  and  profound  thankfulness  to  God.  Both  him- 
self and  his  coadjutor,  the  Right  Rev.  Martin  John  Spalding,  took 
infinite  pains  to  show  how  much  they  felt  themselves  honored 
through  his  coming,  and  the  latter  was  especially  earn2st  in  his 
endeavors  to  render  his  condition  altogether  pleasant  and  comfort- 
able. He  had  a  room  fitted  up  for  him  in  the  bishop's  house,  and 
another  in  that  of  his  friend  Charles  Maquaire,  in  Portland,  and 
for  several  months  of  the  winter  of  that  year  his  time  was  about 
evenly  taken  up  with  light  labors  between  the  city  and  that  suburb. 

Father  Badin's  last  public  appearance  in  Louisville  was  on 
the  15th  of  August,  1849,  on  the  occasion  of  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  new  cathedral,  against  the  erection  of  which,  on 
the  spot  it  now  occupies,  he  had  vainly  protested.  He  might  have 
been  made  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  ceremonial  of  the  day,  but 
he  was  not;  and  for  the  reason, as  is  supposed,  that  he  did  not  wish 
to  be  regarded  as  friendly  to  an  undertaking  which  he  looked  upon 
as  a  blunder.  A  few  days  later  he  astonished  his  friends,  both  of 
the  clergy  and  laity,  by  taking  leave  of  them  and  of  the  diocese. 
Seated  upon  his  box  of  chattels,  which  had  been  placed  upon  a 
dray,  he  was  drawn  from  his  lodgings  in  the  bishops  house  to  the 


,  A    HISTORY    OF    cAtHOLICITY 

river  front,  where,  so  to  speak,  he  shook  from   his  feet  the  dust  of 
his  adopted  state,  and  took  passage  to  Cincinnati. 

The  last  three  years  of  the  hfe  of  Father  Badin  were  passed 
in  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati.  With  no  obhgation  to  labor  at  all, 
and  incapable,  indeed,  by  reason  of  age  and  infirmity,  of  attend- 
ing to  the  wants  of  a  congregation,  he  showed  himself  ready, 
nevertheless,  to  prosecute  any  special  work  that  promised  in  any 
wise  to  lessen  the  burdens  of  the  local  pastors.  Though  nomi- 
nally attached  to  the  cathedral,  his  restless  nature  propelled  him 
often  in  other  directions.  It  was  his  habit  during  these  years  to 
make  short  visits  to  the  cpuntry  parishes,  more  particularly  to 
those  of  Hamilton,  Columbus,  Chillicothe,  Somerset.  Zanesville, 
and  the  French  settlements  of  Shelby  and  Darke  counties. 

On  one  occasion  he  made  a  somewhat  extended  visit  to  Fort 
Wayne,  Ind.,  where  the  pastor.  Very  Rev.  J.  Benoit,  was  his 
warm  friend  and  fellow-countryman.  One  day,  while  engaged 
about  the  house,  Father  Benoit  was  disturbed  by  sounds  of  con- 
tinuous knocking,  which  appeared  to  come  from' the  belfry  of  his 
little  church.  Hastily  going  out  and  looking  upward,  he  was  sur- 
prised and  not  a  little  indignant  at  seeing  his  ancient  friend,  with 
hatchet  in  hand,  busily  employed  in  knocking  away  the  lattice 
work  by  which  the  space  occupied  by  the  bell  was  surrounded. 
"What  are  you  doing  there.  Father  Badin?"  shouted  the  pastor 
in  a  voice  that  was  indicative  of  his  displeasure.  "Don't  you 
want  your  bell  to  be  heard  ?"  demanded  the  missionary  by  way  of 
answer,  "  and  if  you  do,"  he  continued,  "  why  do  you  crib  up  the 
sound  with  these  painted  boards.'"  There  was  a  modicum  of 
both  wit  and  reason  in  this  reply,  and  Father  Benoit  was  at  once 
mollified.  He  put  an  end  to  the  proceedings  aloft,  without  abso- 
lutely breaking  with  his  friend;  but  he  took  good  care  to  keep  his 
tool  chest  locked  during  the  remainder  of  his  visit. 

The  annexed  most  interesting  account  of  Father  Badin's  last 

illness  and  death  is  from  a  distinguished  ecclesiastic  of  the  arch- 
diocese of  Cincinnati  : 

"I  have  been  asked  to  give  the  particular  incidents  attending 
the  last  days  of  Rev.  Stephen  Theodore  Badin.  For  years  before 
his  death  he  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  house  of  Archbishop  Purcell, 

(lisT 


IN    THK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

where  he  was  always  a  welcome  j^uest.  The  last  five  months  of 
his  life  were  spent  there  almost  continually.  The  many  years  of 
arduous  labor  to  which  he  had  been  subjected  had  evidently 
exhausted  his  physical  strength,  and  though  suffering  from  no  dis- 
ease, he  was  seen  to  decline  from  day  to  day.  To  the  very  last, 
his  mind  was  clear  and  even  vigorous,  in  the  expression  of  his 
great  faith  in  God  and  gratitude  to  those  from  whom  he  received 
either  favors  or  attentions.  In  fact,  his  death  was  like  that  of  all 
the  first  missionary  priests  of  the  West.  They  were  grand  old 
men,  and  when  they  yielded  to  death,  it  was  not  in  consequence 
of  disease,  but  of  the  great  labors  by  which  they  had  been 
oppressed. 

"All  who  knew  Father  Badin  were  more  or  less  acquainted 
with  his  eccentricities.  When  he  was  in  vigorous  health,  so 
unusual  did  these  appear  to  me,  that  I  was  inclined  to  the  belief 
that  they  were  assumed;  but  the  last  days  of  his  life  convinced 
me  that  they  were  due  to  the  natural  exuberance  of  his  character. 
One  day,  I  remember,  he  described  to  me  in  his  inimitable  way 
his  journey  to  Europe  in  1819,  and  his  efforts  while  there  to  secure 
for  himself  the  place  of  coadjutor  to  the  bishop  of  Bardstown. 
This  was  within  a  week  of  his  death,  and  yet  his  recollection  was 
so  vivid  and  his  fancy  so  engaging,  that  he  kept  those  who  were 
sitting  around  his  bed  constantly  smiling,  and  sometimes  breaking 
into  fits  of  laughter.  'It  was  a  very  good  thing,  sir,'  said  he, 
'  that  I  did  not  succeed.  Had  I  done  so,  I  would  have  plagued 
myself,  plagued  my  clergy,  and  plagued  my  people.  I  thought 
at  the  time  that  I  was  wise,  but  ' — and  this  was  added  with  a 
laugh^ — '  Our  Lord  was  wiser  than  Father  Badin.' 

"  One  day  he  left  his  bed  for  the  last  time,  and  to  the  surprise 
of  the  archbishop  and  those  who  were  at  the  table  with  him, 
entered  the  dining-room.  We  all  rose  to  receive  him,  and  he 
was  given  a  comfortable  place.  '  I  have  come,  sir,'  said  he  address- 
ing himself  to  the  archbishop,  '  to  have  a  last  talk  with  you  and 
your  priests.'  In  the  course  of  the  conversation  that  followed 
he  alluded  to  his  fondness  for  the  Latin  poets,  and  he  and  the 
archbishop  quoted  from  the  odes  of  Horace.  All  were  astonished 
at  the  wit  he   displayed,  and   they   were  charmed  as  well   at   the 

"(149) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

happy  application  he  made  of  the  poet's  words  to  what  was  pass- 
ing at  the  moment.  At  this  same  time  his  appearance  was  that  of 
a  corpse.  He  concluded  by  wishing  us  all  farewell;  and  so  feel- 
ingly spoken  was  his  short  address  to  the  archbishop,  that  all  pres- 
ent were  affected  beyond  measure. 

"That  same  night  it  was  thought  advisable  to  give  him  the  sac- 
rament of  extreme  unction,  which  was  administered  by  Very  Rev. 
E.  T.  Collins.  Father  Collins  was  as  slow  and  methodical  as 
Father  Baden  was  quick  and  impulsive,  and  while  the  former  was 
administering  the  sacrament,  the  dying  priest  sank  into  and  waked 
from  unconsciousness  more  than  once.  The  last  of  these  fitful 
awakenings  was  phenomenal.  Coming  to  himself,  and  finding 
Father  Collins  still  engaged  in  rubrical  work,  he  exclaimed:  '  Is  it 
possible  you  haven't  got  through  yet!'  The  attempt  to  keep 
serious  under  such  provocation  was  manifested  most  ludicrously  on 
the  faces  of  the  attendants. 

"As  w^as  usual  with  me  since  he  had  been  confined  to  his  bed, 
I  called  to  see  him  next  morning.  Observing  me,  he  said  with  a 
smile:  '  Here  I  am  yet,  sir!  Could  you  not  give  me  a  push  around 
the  corner.'  "  Almost  immediately  afterwards  he  exclaimed:  '  O 
God,  have  mercy  on  us!'  These  were  his  last  words  on  earth. 
Soon  after  he  fell  into  his  agony,  and  for  five  days  he  was  wholly 
unconscious.  I  have  seen  many  die,  but  none  who  struggled  so 
long  with  death.  On  the  morning  of  his  death,  Archbishop  Pur- 
cell  and  the  priests  in  his  house  were  summoned  to  his  sick  chamber, 
and  while  they  were  kneeling  beside  his  bed  a  thunder-storm  swept 
over  the  city.  When  the  skies  became  again  serene,  it  was  observed 
that  the  proto- priest  and  great  missionary  had  passed  away." 

In  an  address  delivered  by  him  in  the  former  cathedral  of  Cin- 
cinnati, a  quarter  of  a  century  before  the  date  of  his  death — April 
21,  1853 — Father  Badin  had  alluded  to  the  possibility  that  his  own 
ashes  might  one  day  rest  beside  those  of  Dr.  Fenwick,  first  bishop 
of  the  see,  beneath  the  altar  upon  which  he  had  that  day  offered 
up  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass.  The  venerable  prelate  who  had 
given  honor  and  protection  to  him  living,  was  pleased  to  grant  an 
honorable  resting-place  to  his  remains  under  the  chancel  of  his  own 
metropolitan  church. 

(150r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE      DECEASED      BISHOPS JOHN      HENRY     LUERS  —  HIS     LIFE     AND 

SERVICES — JOSEPH    DWENGER    AND    HIS     LONG    ADMINISTRATION. 

JOHN  HENRY  LUERS  was  born  near  the  city  of  Munster, 
U  Westphalia,  a  province  of  lower  Germany,  on  the  29th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1 8 19.  His  parents,  though  poor  in  the  goods  of  this  world, 
were  possessed  of  a  generous  faith  and  well  endowed  with  the  graces 
of  religion.  They  were  particularly  solicitous  for  the  moral  and 
religious  welfare  of  their  children.  In  1833  this  pious  family, 
urged  by  poverty,  emigrated  from  their  native  country,  and,  after 
a  tedious  voyage  in  an  emigrant  ship,  landed  at  New  York,  June 
7,  of  the  same  year,  friendless  and  almost  alone.  John  was  then 
in  his  fourteenth  year.  The  father  of  the  family,  with  the  char- 
acteristic thoughtfulness  of  his  race,  lost  no  time  in  fruitless  efforts 
to  make  a  livelihood  in  our  Atlantic  cities,  but  pushed  onward 
toward  the  west.  Ohio  was  at  that  time  the  pioneer  state  in 
industry,  enterprise  and  development,  and  was  particularly  attract- 
ive for  Catholics.  The  saintly  Bishop  Edward  Fenwick  had 
traversed  it  from  one  extremity  to  another;  he  had  wished  to 
place  a  priest  in  every  thriving  mission  or  village,  but  when  this 
was  impossible,  he  girded  himself  for  the  work  of  saving  souls,  and 
gave  to  the  poorest  hamlets  the  consolation  of  his  own  apostolic 
ministry.  Thus,  while  struggling  to  build  up  his  own  diocese,  he 
was  laying  the  foundation  of  the  three  flourishing  sees  of  Cincin- 
natti,  Cleveland  and  Columbus. 

Religious  training  was  what  the  father  of  this  good  family 
mainly  desired  for  his  children.  Piqua  was  at  that  time  promi- 
nently mentioned  as  likely  to  outstrip  Cincinnati  itself  in  growth, 
and  located  as  it  was  on  the  Miami  river,  and  being  the  terminus 

.      .  ~(15r> 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  the  Miami  canal,  it  connected  Cincinnati,  on  the  Ohio  river, 
with  Toledo  on  the  lakes.  Here  the  emigrants  determined  to 
settle.  Locating  themselves  upon  a  farm  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  town,  the  boys  united  their  labors  with  those  of  their  father  in 
supporting  the  family.  But  John  was  placed  as  clerk  and  assistant 
salesman  in  the  store  of  a  Protestant  merchant  in  Piqua,  where  his 
strict  integrity  and  attention  to  business  won  for  him  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  his  employer  and  all  who  saw  him.  But  alas, 
while  gaining  the  encomiums  of  men,  he  was  losing  grace  with 
God.  Without  deviating  from  the  moral  lessons  of  his  youth,  he 
was  fast  neglecting  and  forgetting  his  religion.  Upon  one  occa- 
sion, when  the  young  clerk  returned  home  for  a  short  vacation,  it 
fell  to  his  lot  in  turn  to  recite  the  night  prayers  for  the  assembled 
family.  To  the  amazement  of  the  father,  his  son  could  not 
remember  a  word  of  his  prayers.  The  bishop  often  afterward 
jocosely  said,  whilst  reciting  this  incident:  "  The  subsequent  inter- 
view between  my  father  and  myself  was  of  such  a  striking  nature 
that  I  received  sufficient  reasons  to  promise  to  relearn  w-hat  I  had 
forgotten.  It  was  a  sore  lesson,  but  one  which  I  never  forgot." 
A  most  effectual  change  now  manifested  itself  in  his -thoughts 
and  feelings.  The  things  of  God  now  greatly  engrossed  his  mind. 
He  began  to  perceive  that  those  who  labor  for  the  salvation  of  souls 
were  the  favored  ones  of  heaven.  He  even  began  to  sigh  to 
become  one  of  the  dwellers  in  the  sanctuary.  But  how  could  he 
acquire  the  education  required  for  this  exalted  station,  or  even 
cherish  a  hope  of  ever  attaining  it.''  Events,  however,  showed 
that  heaven  had  marked  him  out  for  one  of  its  own.  It  was  not 
long  afterward  that  Archbishop  Purcell,  the  successor  of  the 
saintly  Fenwick,  visited  the  vicinity  of  Piqua,  in  order  to  confer 
confirmation.  On  the  roadside,  as  he  was  riding  along,  he  over- 
took a  lad  trudging  right  manfully  in  the  same  direction.  Im- 
pressed with  the  boy's  appearance,  the  prelate  reined  up  his  horse, 
and  the  following  conversation  ensued:  "Where  are  you  going, 
my  son.^"  asked  the  archbishop.  "I  am  going  to  mass,  sir.  "  an- 
swered the  youth.  "It  is  a  long  way  to  walk,  my  boy,  and  you 
may  get  up  behind  one  of  these  gentlemen,"  replied  the  arch- 
bishop, pointing  to  a  priest  who  was  riding  by  his  side.      "  Thus," 

<152r 


IX    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

said  the    archbishop,  in   preaching  the    funeral    sermon   of   Bishop 
Luers,  "did   I    become    acquainted    with    your    bishop    thirty-six 
years  ago."     The  conversation  which  followed  disclosed  the  young 
man's  religious  aspirations,  but  in  his  situation  there  seemed  to  be 
no  hope  of  attaining  the  object  of  his  desire.      But  the  archbishop 
inspired  him  with  hope,  and  remarked    to   him:    "  Fear   not,    my 
son;  if  God  has  destined  you  for  the  sanctuary,  and  has  given  you 
a  vocation,  he  will  in    his   wisdom    provide    the   means.      But   you 
must  pray  that  God's  will  may  be  done."     From  that  moment  the 
desire  of  devoting  himself  exclusively  to  God's  service  took  posses- 
sion of  the  heart  of  young  Luers.      He  became  fond  of  study,  and 
was  rarely  afterward  seen  by  the  companions  of  his  sports.    Gen. 
M.    D.  Morrison,  then  one  of  his  companions,  and  later  a  member 
of  congress  from    Indiana,  has   related,  since   the   bishop's   death: 
"Bishop   Luers,  when   quite    a   boy    with    us   in   Piqua,    suddenly 
stopped  playing  with  the  boys,  and  this  being  something  unusual, 
we  often  asked,   '  What  has  become   of  John   Luers.''     The  reply 
was  given,  '  Why,  he's  got  hold  of  some  old  Latin  books,  and  he  is 
studying  them;  he  is  going   to   be  a  Catholic  priest.'     The   next 
thing    I   heard  of  him   was,    that   he  had  gone  off  somewhere  to 
school." 

The  old  seminary  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  in  Brown  county, 
Ohio,  conducted  by  the  Lazarists,  a  religious  congregation  dis- 
tinguished for  training  young  men  for  the  ministry,  was  the  only 
alma  mater  of  Bishop  Luers.  To  its  classes  and  privileges  he 
was  introduced  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  to  whom  he  applied  to  be 
received  as  a  candidate  for  the  priesthood.  He  could  not  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  better  masters  for  worldly  science,  and 
above  all  for  the  science  of  the  saints.  It  was  at  the  feet  of  the 
^ood  sons  of  St.  Vincent  that  his  natural  qualities  were  developed 
by  study  and  sanctified  by  grace,  until  he  became  a  fit  instrument 
in  announcing  the  word  of  God  and  in  performing  his  divine  min- 
istry. During  his  seminary  life  none  gave  more  evident  marks  of 
a  sacred  vocation,  none  was  more  edifying  in  conduct,  none  more 
proficient  in  study.  Bishop  Luers  did  not  possess  what  would  be 
called  a  quick  or  brilliant  mind,  but,  what  was  far  better,  a  pro- 
found mind.      He  thoroughly  understood  the  sciences  he  applied 

"(163) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

himself  to,  and  mastered  them  in  all  their  depths  and  ramifica- 
tions. His  good  memory  enabled  him  to  treasure  up  all  he 
acquired,  and  to  draw  upon  his  well-stored  mind  with  aptness  and 
facility.  The  reports  sent  by  the  superiors  of  the  seminary  to 
Archbishop  Purcell  from  time  to  time  were  of  the  most  satisfac- 
tory character.  To  a  close  application  to  study  he  united  solid 
piety,  ardent  zeal,  and  a  generous  desire  to  devote  himself  to  the 
service  of  God  and  the  good  of  his  neighbor.  Having  been  found 
worthy  of  the  exalted  office  to  which  he  aspired,  he  was  ordained 
sub-deacon  by  Archbishop  Purcell  in  the  cathedral  of  Cincinnati 
on  All  Saints'  Day,  November  i,  1846;  deacon  on  the  feast  of  St. 
Charles  Borromeo,  November  4th,  and  on  the  feast  of  St.  Martin, 
November  iith,  in  the  tvventy-fifth  year  of  his  age,  he  was  ele- 
vated to  the  holy  priesthood.  He  was  the  last  priest  ordained 
from  the  old  seminary  in  Brown  county,  which  is  now  succeeded 
by  the  Ursuline  convent  of  St.  Martin. 

He  zealously  embraced  the  new  career  of  usefulness  and  labor 
now  opened  to  him.  Archbishop  Purcell  exhibited  great  discern- 
ment in  selecting  him,  though  so  young  a  priest,  for  one  of  the 
most  important  posts  in  the  diocese.  The  congregation  of  St. 
Joseph  was  struggling  to  erect  a  church,  the  walls  of  which  were 
half  up.  but  a  heavy  debt  was  hanging  over  them  and  paralyzing 
every  effort.  In  this  emergency  Archbishop  Purcell  appointed  the 
young  priest  pastor  of  the  new  and  struggling  congregation.  From 
that  moment  new  life  was  infused  into  the  enterprise,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  the  archbishop  had  the  consolation  of  dedicating 
to  the  service  of  God  that  first  fruit  of  his  labor.  Not  only  was 
the  church  of  St.  Joseph  finished,  but  it  was  also  cleared  from  all 
incumbrances.  But  his  work  was  really  now  only  begun.  He 
realized  in  his  own  person  a  remark  which  he  frequently  addressed 
to  his  own  clergy  when  he  was  bishop:  "  I  have  somewhere  read 
that  more  men  rust  out  than  wear  out;  a  piece  of  mechanism  is 
more  apt  to  get  out  of  repair  when  not  employed  than  when  per- 
forming its  accustomed  labors."  He  took  a  census  of  the  chil- 
dren of  his  parish,  and  discovered  one  thousand  young  ones  need- 
ing instruction.  He  also  found  that  many  parents  could  be  reached 
only  through  their  children.      It  was  chiefly  through  the  rising  gen- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

eration  that  the  faith  could  be  preserved  in  a  city  Hke  Cincinnati, 
where  infidehty  and  irrehgion  stalked  abroad  in  the  open  day, 
spreading  moral  poison  through  all  the  walks  of  life,  showing  con- 
tempt for  Christianity  by  devoting  the  Lord's  day  to  frivolity,  self- 
indulgence  and  amusement,  and  in  throwing  open  the  places  of  dis- 
sipation to  both  sexes  and  to  all  ages  and  conditions.  Catholic 
schools  were  the  weapons  he  used  against  these  evils.  Soon  a  sub- 
stantial school-house  arose,  and  the  children  were  gathered  in  num- 
bers under  its  roof.  He  thus  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  those 
whom  he  had  baptized  now  reared  in  the  faith,  and  in  a  pure  and 
holy  life.  He  made  it  a  rule,  while  in  Cincinnati,  to  visit  the  schools 
every  day.  How  acceptable  must  have  been  the  atonement  for  the 
sins  of  that  cit}',  when  from  the  hearts  of  so  many  innocent 
children  arose  the  prayer  of  faith  and  love  on  high,  "May 
Jesus  Christ  be  beloved!" 

Twelve  years  of  zealous  pastoral  labor  and  devotion  to  the 
good  of  his  flock  rolled  around,  during  which  Father  Luers  won 
the  esteem  of  his  bishop  and  the  love  of  his  people.  In  the  mean- 
time great  changes  were  being  wrought  in  the  Catholic  church  of 
America.  When  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's,  the  three 
states  of  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Indiana  were  under  the  spiritual  rule 
of  one  bishop.  Catholics  were  few  in  numbers,  except  in  the  large 
cities  and  towns,  and  did  not  usuall}-  belong  to  the  wealthy  classes. 
Their  ranks  had  been  increased  to  some  extent  by  conversions 
from  the  sects.  But  during  the  years  1847,  1848  and  1849, 
causes  w^ere  at  work  in  Europe  which  greatly  affected  the  growth 
in  population  of  the  United  States,  and  more  than  a  corresponding 
increase  in  the  Catholic  population.  The  tide  of  immigration 
poured  its  masses  into  the  United  States,  and  in  the  three  states 
of  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Indiana  twenty  thousand  Catholics  were 
added  to  our  population  annually.  A  multiplication  of  Catholic 
dioceses  resulted  from  these  causes.  Northern  Ohio  was  erected 
into  a  separate  episcopal  see,  located  at  Cleveland.  In  1853, 
Kentucky  felt  the  swelling  tide,  and  the  eastern  part  of  the  state 
was  formpd  into  the  diocese  of  Covington.  Indiana  had  not  yet 
increased  her  Catholic  population  to  the  same  extent,  owing  in 
part  to  the  location   and    physical  formation  of    the  state.      Her 

~(155j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

shape  is  long  and  narrow,  being  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles 
long,  and  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  wide.  A  trav- 
eler from  Ohio,  on  reaching  the  Wabash,  would  imagine  himself 
in  a  different  country.  The  southern  part  of  the  state,  in  which 
Vincennes  is  located,  is  high,  hilly  and  rolling;  that  portion  which 
lies  north  of  the  Wabash  is  level,  flat  and,  in  1846,  was  marshy, 
requiring  a  vast  expenditure  of  labor  and  money  before  it  could  be 
rendered  available  for  cultivation.  Besides  the  more  favorable 
condition  of  southern  Indiana  in  respect  to  soil  and  topographical 
formation,  it  was  thrifty  and  prosperous,  and  was  readily  and  con- 
veniently reached  by  immigrants  following  the  Ohio,  then  the  great 
highway  of  travel.  But  northern  Indiana  was  the  route  to  the 
great  northwest;  railroads  were  constructed  across  her  bosom, 
ditches  were  opened  at  the  public  expense,  and  competition  of 
travel  enlivened  and  enriched  her  territory;  and  what  had  been 
regarded  as  a  vast  morass,  now  became  a  blooming  garden.  The 
university  of  Notre  Dame,  located  at  South  Bend,  contributed  its 
share  in  changing  the  face  of  the  country;  Fort  Wayne,  at  the 
junction  of  the  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Joseph's  rivers,  suddenly  became 
a  place  of  importance,  as  did  also  Logansport,  LaFayette,  Laporte 
and  other  flourishing  towns,  in  which  churches  had  been  erected 
and  schools  established.  It  was  under  these  circumstances  of 
progress  and  development,  added  to  the  remoteness  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  state  of  Indiana  from  Vincennes,  that  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  de  St.  Palais  proposed  its  erection  into  a  separate  diocese. 
The  military  highway,  known  as  the  National  road,  which  divided 
the  state  in  two,  was  chosen  as  the  dividing  line.  The  provincial 
council  adopted  the  suggestion,  and  Rome  ratified  the  action  of  the 
council.  It  was  thus  that  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne  was  created 
in  1857. 

The  wisdom  of  the  council  was  still  further  manifested  in  the 
selection  of  Father  Luers  as  the  first  bishop  of  Fort  Wayne,  a 
result  least  anticipated  by  himself  and  by  the  congregation  of  St. 
Joseph's.  He  humbly  bowed  his  head  to  the  mandate  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  expressed  through  Rome  and  the  council,  exclaiming: 
"  Behold  thy  servant,  O  Lord!  "  He  was  consecrated  in  the 
cathedral  of  Cincinnati,  the  same  temple  that  had   witnessed  his 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


ordination  as  a  priest,  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  on  the  loth  of  Janu- 
ary, 1858.  The  assistant  prelates  were  the  Right  Rev.  Maurice  de 
St.  Palais,  bishop  of  Vincennes,  and  the  Right  Rev.  George  Aloy- 
suis  Carrell,  bishop  of  Covington.  The  assistants  in  the  pontifical 
mass  were  the  Very  Rev.  E.  T.  Collins,  vicar-general,  archdeacon, 
and  the  Rev.  Messrs.  J.  Albrinck,  of  Pomeroy,  and  C.  H.  Borgess, 
of  Columbus,  later  bishop  of  Detroit,  deacon  and  subdeacon.  The 
solemnity  of  the  occasion  was  increased  by  the  presence  of  the  rep- 
resentatives of  many  religious  orders,  among  whom  was  the  Right 
Rev.  Boniface  Wimmer,  mitred  abbot  of  the  Benedictine  convent 
of  St.  Vincent,  near  Latrobe,  Pa.  The  consecration  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Right  Rev.  Martin  J.  Spalding,  then  bishop  of 
Louisville,  Ky. ,  and  later  archbishop  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

On  the  day  of  his  consecration  a  tribute  was  rendered  to  the 
newly  consecrated  bishop,  which  was  a  striking  evidence  of  his 
recognized  worth  and  services,  and  of  the  pious  gratitude  of  his 
devoted  f^ock.  The  entire  congregation  of  St.  Joseph's  came  forth 
in  the  afternoon  of  January  loth,  to  testify  their  love  for  the  pastor 
whom  they  were  about  to  lose,  their  appreciation  for  his  labors,  and 
their  admiration  for  his  virtues.  The  new  bishop  was  requested  to 
meet  them  at  the  altar  of  St.  Joseph's,  the  scene  of  his  long  and  faith- 
ful missionary  career.  The  sanctuary  was  brilliantly  illumined,  the 
church  thronged  to  overflowing.  A  framework  erected  in  the 
sanctuary  bore,  in  the  midst  of  light,  appropriate  texts  of  scripture; 
the  choir  commenced  the  proceedings  with  a  hymn.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Stehle,  aided  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sommer,  who  were  afterward 
charged  with  the  care  of  the  congregation,  arranged  rich  offerings 
appertaining  to  the  episcopal  office  on  a  credence  table  and  an 
address  was  read  to  the  new  bishop.  The  little  boys  and  girls  of 
the  school,  handsomely  dressed,  the  girls  in  white  and  wearing 
bright  crowns,  the  young  unmarried  men  and  ladies,  the  fathers 
and  mothers  of  families,  the  officers  of  religious  societies  and  all 
the  German  Catholics  of  Cincinnati,  through  their  able  representa- 
tive. Rev.  Father  Otto  Jair,  O.  S.  F.,  later  vicar-general  of  the 
diocese,  had  a  word  and  a  gift  for  their  right  reverend  friend,  the 
delivery  of  which  was  interspersed  with  music  from  the  choir.  It 
was  a  heart -offering  from  all    present  to   the   merit  and  virtues  of 

"(157). 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  faithful  pastor  now  leaving  them.  The  archbishop  and  the 
right  reverend  bishops  of  Vincennes  and  Covington,  who  were  in  the 
sanctuary,  were  deeply  affected  by  this  exhibition  of  an  entire  peo- 
ple's gratitude  and  faith.  A  large  delegation  of  both  Catholics  and 
Protestants  from  Fort  Wayne  met  the  congregation  of  St.  Joseph 
at  Cincinnati,  and  thus  voices  of  gratitude,  benediction  and  fare- 
well were  mingled  with  those  of  future  joy,  loyalty  and  promise. 
And  after  the  exercises  in  the  church  were  over,  the  newly  conse- 
crated prelate  visited  the  schools,  and  there  to  see  and  hear  the 
tokens  of  sorrow  everywhere  visible  became  perfectly  painful;  and 
it  was  only  after  repeated  assurances  that  he  would  often  visit  them 
could  their  grief  be  restrained.  Kneeling  to  receive  his  blessing, 
with  a  thousand  wishes  for  his  welfare,  the  impressive  scene  closed. 

In  a  day  or  two  afterward  Bishop  Luers  departed  for  his  new 
home,  and  lost  no  time  in  taking  possession  of  his  see,  and  in  com- 
mencing the  exalted  and  arduous  work  before  him.  He  arrived 
toward  evening,  alone  and  unannounced,  carrying  his  traveling- 
bag  in  his  hand,  at  the  door  of  the  residence  of  the  Very  Rev. 
Father  Benoit.  A  day  or  two  afterward,  when  the  gentlemen 
who  had  in  charge  the  preparations  for  extending  to  the  bishop  a 
public  and  honorable  reception  at  Fort  Wayne,  came  to  the  house 
to  inquire  when  he  was  expected  to  arrive,  great  was  their  surprise, 
when  the  bishop  opened  the  door  for  them  and  answered  their 
inquiries  in  person.  Their  disappointment  was  lost  sight  of  in  their 
admiration  for  his  humility,  while  the  bishop  enjoyed  himself  mirth- 
fully at  their  expense. 

Bishop  Luers  found  his  diocese  even  poorer  than  he  expected. 
A  small  frame  church,  which  had  grown  almost  dilapidated  in  the 
service,  was  his  only  cathedral.  A  neat  brick  building,  erected 
by  the  Rev.  A.  Bessonies  during  an  absence  of  Father  Benoit  in 
Louisville,  was  the  episcopal  residence.  In  Father  Benoit  the 
bishop  found  a  zealous  and  invaluable  vicar-general  and  co-la- 
borer. The  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne  embraced  a  territory  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles  long  and  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles 
wide,  comprising  thirty-eight  counties,  with  a  scattered  population 
of  20,000  souls,  whose  spiritual  wants  were  supplied  by  eleven 
secular  priests  and  three  priests  of  the  Congregation  of  the   Holy 


RT.   REV.  JOHN   HENRY  LUERS. 
(DECEASED.) 


IN    THI£    STATE    OI'    INDIANA. 


Cross,  engaged  on  the  missions.  Tiiese  twenty  churches,  if  such 
they  could  be  called,  were  mostly  of  the  poorest  description,  and 
wholly  unable  to  accommodate  one-half  of  the  congregations.  Many 
places  were  destitute  of  both  churches  and  priests.  The  bishop 
seemed  to  possess  the  faculty  of  ubiquity  in  his  efforts  to  supply 
their  necessities  himself.  He  was  from  this  circumstance  seldom 
at  home,  and  it  might  be  said  that  his  episcopal  residence  was  a 
railroad  car.  On  one  day  he  would  be  in  a  remote  corner  of  his 
diocese,  and  in  a  day  or  two  afterward  he  would  be  heard  of  in 
quite  an  opposite  quarter,  preaching,  offering  mass,  and  admin- 
istering the  sacraments.  His  answer  to  the  many  petitions  he 
received  for  resident  priests,  was  a  generous  effort  to  bestow  upon 
the  congregations  the  efforts  of  his  own  ministry.  He  fervently 
prayed  for  the  advent  of  more  priests  in  his  diocese;  and  within 
the  first  year  of  his  episcopate  two  priests  were  ordained  for  the 
diocese,  and  he  welcomed  them  as  messengers  sent  from  heaven  in 
answer  to  his  prayers.  So  earnest  were  his  efforts  in  this  regard, 
that  in  two  years  he  could  point  to  eight  more  clergymen  ordained 
by  himself.  He  had  also  eight  ecclesiastical  students  in  preparation 
for  the  sacred  office  in  various  seminaries.  This  supply  scarcely 
diminished  the  demand  for  priests,  for  in  the  same  short  period  his 
Catholic  flock  was  increased  by  more  than  25,000. 

Bishop  Luers  gave  his  early  attention  to  the  work  of  erecting 
a  cathedral  worthy  of  his  diocese.  Father  Benoit  had  already 
matured  plans  for  that  purpose,  and  in  the  spring  of  1859  the  pres- 
ent cathedral,  a  Gothic  building  180  feet  long  by  eighty  feet  wide, 
with  two  towers  in  front,  was  undertaken.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  by  Archbishop  Purcell  on  Trinity  Sunday  of  that  year,  and 
such  was  the  energy  of  the  bishop  and  his  vicar-general,  that  it 
was  under  roof  before  winter.  It  was  thrown  open  to  the  thou- 
sands who  crowded  to  see  its  graceful  proportions,  and  to  attend  a 
grand  fair  held  within  its  unfinished  walls,  in  order  to  defray  the 
expense  of  its  completion.  Other  places  soon  emulated  Fort 
Wayne  in  its  erection  of  fine  churches,  in  which  they  were  warmly 
encouraged  by  the  bishop,  who  had  the  happiness  every  year  of 
laying  the  corner-stone  of  two  or  three  fine  churches,  ranging  in 
value  from  $15,000   to  $40,000.      In  these  works  he  was  warmly 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

seconded  by  his  zealous  clergy,  most  of  whom  he  had  educated  in 
the  diocese  and  under  his  eye,  and  who  were  devoted  to  him  as  he 
was  to  them.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  affection  for  his  priests. 
The  same  interest  he  manifested  in  them  while  the}'  were  students 
of  the  diocese  continued  and  increased  when  he  recognized  in  them 
the  laborers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard.  It  was  remarkable  that  he 
never  spokedisparingagly  of  any  of  them,  but  delighted  in  commend- 
ing and  encouraging  their  labors,  and  in  speaking  of  them  in  praise. 
He  also  took  pleasure  in  assisting  them,  and  in  sharing  with  them 
the  labors  of  the  mission.  He  would  frequently  travel  all  night, 
at  great  inconvenience,  in  order  to  arrive  at  an  early  hour  at  places 
where  he  was  announced  or  expected.  On  his  arrival  he  would 
repair  to  the  confessional,  and  hear  the  confessions  of  the  people 
until  his  time  for  saying  mass  arrived.  He  was  devoted  to  the 
celebration  of  the  holy  sacrifice,  esteeming  it  the  greatest  privilege 
of  his  life.  It  made  no  difference  at  what  hour  of  the  night  or 
morning  he  arrived  at  a  place,  he  was  found  at  the  altar  at  the 
early  hour  of  six.  He  used  to  say:  "  God  derives  more  glory  from 
the  celebration  of  one  mass  than  from  the  praise  of  all  the  angels 
in  heaven.  Ought  not  priests  give  to  God  that  glory,  at  no  matter 
what  personal  inconvenience.^"  This  love  of  the  holy  sacrifice 
sometimes  brought  him  in  contact  with  strange  characters  and 
amusing  occurrences.  On  one  occasion  he  arrived  at  the  house  of 
a  priest  at  an  early  hour;  the  priest  was  ill,  and  was  attended  by 
an  odd,  though  well-meaning  character  as  a  nurse,  who  on  hearing 
loud  knocks  at  the  door,  threw  up  the  window  and  addressed  the 
intruder  as  follows:  "  Be  off  out  of  that!  Don't  you  know  his 
reverence  is  sick,  and  can't  go  out  on  sick  calls.?  A  pretty  time  of 
the  day  you  are  calling."  The  window  closed  amid  a  shower  of 
abuse  on  the  unknown  bishop.  He  quietly  walked,  valise  in  hand, 
to  the  convent,  where  he  met  with  a  cordial  reception.      He  said: 

"  There  was  a  man  down  at  Father 's  house   who  ordered 

me  to  rather  warm  quarters,  but  I  thought  it  better  to  come  and 

say  mass."     The  visit  was  well  timed,  for  the  good  nuns  had  not 

enjoyed  the  consolation  of  mass  in  their  community  for  some  time. 

Bishop  Luers  was  prompt,  and  at  the  same  time   prudent,    in 


(162) 


IN  thp:  state  of  Indiana. 

checking  and  correcting  any  irregularities  he  observed  in  the  man- 
agement of  ecclesiastical  interests.      A   custom   prevailed  in  many 
of  the  congregations  of  having  one  or  more  laymen  to  aid  the  pas- 
tor in  providing  and  managing  the  temporalities  of  the  churches. 
Bishop  Luers  discovered  that  this  custom,  in  several  cases,  led  to 
enroachments   upon  the  rights   of  the  pastor,  and   savored  some- 
what of  lay  trusteeism,  which  had  been  fruitful  of  such  serious  evils 
in  other  dioceses.     He  resolved  to  arrest  the  evil    at    once.      He 
availed  himself  of  the  first  retreat  of  the  clergy,  and  of   the  synod 
following  it,  to  apply  the  correction.      He  was  in  the  habit  of  hold- 
ing a  biennial  retreat  for  the  clergy;  he  now  made  arrangements  for 
hojding  these  spiritual  exercises  at  the  university  of  Notre  Dame, 
an  accommodation  which  resulted  in  great  advantage  to  the  clergy 
and  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne.      He  gav6  notice  that  the  next  retreat 
would  be  held   at  the  university  of   Notre  Dame,  on  August  i8th, 
1863;  its  exercises  were  conducted  by   the   gifted   Father  Smarius, 
S.    J.,  and   after  the  retreat  followed  the  diocesan  synod.      At  this 
assembly,  Bishop  Luers,  in  a  few  well-timed  remarks,  exposed  the 
evil  he  desired  to  correct;  statutes    were    enacted  for  that  purpose, 
regulating  the  temporalities  of  the  churches,  the   relations   of  the 
clergy  and  laity  to  the  temporalities,  and  defining  the  duties  of  all. 
The  result  was  the  ultimate  withdrawal  of  laymen  from  all  control 
over   church    temporalities,    and   the  establishment   of   peace    and 
good  understanding  throughout  the  diocese. 

Bishop  Luers  was  distinguished  for  his  devotion  to  the  Holy 
See.  He  had  long  desired  to  go  in  person  to  visit  the  shrme  of. 
the  apostles,  to  inhale  the  religious  and  inspiring  air  of  the  Eternal 
city,  to  manifest  his  loyalty  to  the  vicar  of  Christ  on  earth,  and 
to  receive  the  blessing  of  our  Holy  Father  Pius  IX.  He  had  a 
profound  appreciation  for  the  grand  and  symbolic  services  of  the 
church,  and  had  ever  endeavored  to  present  them  to  his  people, 
in  his  own  chaste  but  modest  cathedral,  with  becoming  beauty  and 
solemnity.  To  visit  the  grand  basilicas  of  Rome  became  a  cher- 
ished object  with  him,  and  especially  that  mighty  pile  in  which 
the  genius  of  religion  became  enshrined  under  the  magic  touch  of 
Michael  Angelo,  and  in  which, 


(163> 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

From  each  carved  nook  and  fretted  bend, 

Cornice  and  gallery  seemed  to  send 

Tones  that  with  seraphs'  hymns  might  blend. 

He  started  upon  his  pilgrimage   to  Rome  on  the  2 2d  of  May, 
1864,    accompanied  by  his  chaplain,  Rev.    A.    Oechtering,  leaving 
the  administration  of  his  diocese  in   the  hands  of  Father  Benoit. 
His  European  tour  was  most  gratifying  to  him,    and  at  the  same 
time  most   beneficial  to  his  diocese.      He  visited  Louvain,  that  old 
Catholic  monument  of  learning,  and   by  his   earnest  appeals   and 
winning  manners  secured  the  services  of  four  young  Levites  for  the 
diocese  of  Fort  Wayne.      At   Rome  he   was   received    with  great 
kindness  and  affectionate  regard   by  the  Holy   Father,  who  con- 
ferred upon  him  a  mark  of  his   confidence  and  esteem,  in  empow-. 
ering  him  to   draw  up  a  constitution  and  rules  for  the  community 
of  the  Sisters  of  the   Holy   Cross  in   America,  as   an  independent 
organization  from  the  mother-house  of  the   same   congregation  in 
France.      These  good  sisters  had  struggled  through  difficulties  for 
years;  it  was  impossible  for  the  superiors  in  France  to  understand 
the  position  and  requirements  of  the  community  in  the  young  and 
growing  west,  and  nothing   but   embarrassment   grew   out  of  the 
relation.      The    Holy   See,  after  long  but  prudent  delays,  confided 
their  interests  to  Bishop  Luers,  who  on  his  return,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  Father  Sorin,  provincial  of  the  Congregation  of  Priests  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  apd  of  Mother  Angela,  superioress  of  the  Sisters 
of  the   Holy   Cross,  prepared  a  new  constitution   and   rule  for  the 
congregation  in  America.      His  work   was  approved  by  the   Holy 
See,  and  under  their  new  institute  the  good  Sisters  have  advanced 
in  prosperity  and  usefulness  a  hundred-fold. 

Bishop  Luers  found  in  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
with  its  priests,  brothers  and  sisters,  most  valuable  auxiliaries  in 
the  great  and  good  work  he  achieved  for  his  diocese.  He  honored 
and  cherished  these  co-laborers  with  paternal  affection  and  encour- 
agement, and  they,  in  their  turn,  enriched  his  diocese  with  the 
fine  university  of  Notre  Dame,  and  took  charge  of  eleven  female 
academies,  an  orphan  asylum,  six  religious  institutions,  and  forty 
parish  schools.      Such  has  been  the  growth  of  the  Congregation 


{164) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


of  the  Holy  Cross  in  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne,  that  they  have 
been  able  to  carry  the  blessings  of  their  institute  to  many  other 
dioceses.  They  numbered  at  the  time  of  Bishop  Luers"  death 
twenty-one  priests  in  the  diocese,  six  scholastics,  ninety-one  pro- 
fessed brothers,  fifty-two  novices  and  ten  postulants"!  Besides 
these  were  the  excellent  Sisters  of  Providence,  introduced  at  Fort 
Wayne  by  Father  Benoit,  while  it  was  embraced  in  the  diocese  of 
Vincennes.  The  sisters  established,  under  J^.ishop  Luers  the 
.  academy  of  St.  Ignatius  at  LaFayette.  Under  Bishop  Luers' 
admmistration  were  also  introduced  into  the  diocese  of  Fort 
Wayne  the  Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood. 

In  his  visitations  of  the  diocese,  and  in  his  labors  among  his 
Hock,    Bishop  Luers  was  untiring.      He  frequently  went  through 
his  diocese,  visiting  one  town  or  village  after  another,  instructing 
the  people,  conferring  confirmation  and  first  communion  after  hav'^ 
ing    first   prepared   the   recipients   of    these   sacraments    in    many 
instances  himself,  hearing  confessions,  laying  corner-stones  of  new 
churches,    dedicating  and   consecrating  new   temples   of  the  faith 
already  finished,  projecting  and  providing  sites  for  other,  founding 
parish  schools  and  placing  them  under  the  care  of  the  brothers  and 
sisters  of  religious  communities,  and  performing  every  work  of  the 
holy  ministry  and  every   deed   of  christian  charity.  "  In   all  these 
labors  he  took  pains  to   present   the  ceremonies  of  the  church  to 
the  public  eye  with   imposing  splendor   and   touching  effect.      He 
preached  frequently  and  with  great  impression  upon  his  hearers 
Although  he  commenced  his  studies  late   in   life,  it  was  remarked 
of  him  that  in  his  discourses  he  gave  proof  of  a  thoroughly  trained 
and  educated  intellect.      The  progress  made  by  religion  in  his  dio- 
cese during  his  administration  attests  his  zeal,  his  energv  and  his 
labor.      Fifty  churches   and   ten  chapels   were  erected  in  the  dio- 
cese  of   Fort   Wayne   during   his   episcopate,    in   addition    to  the 
building  of  the  cathedral,  and  six  new  churches  were  in  the  course 
of  erection  at  the   time  of  his  death.      The  whole  number  of  the 
clergy  at  the  commencement  of  his  administration  was  twenty;  at 
his  death  he  left  over  twenty-one  priests  of  religious  orders    forty- 
eight  secular  priests  and  ten  clerical  students.      Houses  of  charity 
and  education  were  multiplied,  and  the  Catholic  population  of  the 

"(165) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

diocese  was  more  than  doubled  during  the  thirteen  years  that  he 
governed  it. 

Bishop  Luers  was  remarkable  for  his  charity  to  the  poor,  and 
to  the  orphans  especially  he  was  a  provident  father  and  most  ten- 
der and  solicitous  guardian.  His  heart  was  pierced  with  grief  at 
the  sight  of  the  many  orphans  who  were  left  destitute  by  the  Civil 
war.  Many  of  'them  were  Catholics,  and  while  the  state  felt 
great  sympathy  for  them,  it  was  but  too  clear  that  their  greatest 
danger  consisted  in  the  public  provision  which  was  about  to  be 
made  for  their  support,  and  which,  while  it  generously  provided  for 
their  temporal  wants,  would  expose  them  to  the  greatest  misfor- 
tunes in  eternity,  the  loss  of  their  faith.  Bishop  Luers  resolved  to 
devote  himself  to  this  good  work  with  all  the  energy  and  zeal  of 
his  character.  He  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  the  suburbs  of 
Fort  Wayne  in  the  spring  of  1865,  as  the  site  of  his  orphan  asy- 
lum, and  Father  Benoit  and  his  successor,  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Wal- 
ters, undertook  to  solicit  subscriptions  for  the  erection  of  the 
necessary  buildings.  In  the  fall  of  1865,  a  solemn  jubilee  was 
proclaimed  by  Pope  Pius  IX,  and  among  the  conditions  for  gaining 
the  indulgence  was  that  of  bestowing  alms  upon  some  object  of 
•charity  designated  by  the  ordinary  of  the  diocese.  Bishop  Luers 
gladly  availed  himself  of  this  opportunity,  by  designating  the 
orphan  asylum  as  the  object  of  their  charity  on  this  occasion.  He 
-addressed  several  eloquent  and  earnest  pastorals  to  his  flock  on 
this  subject.  Th^  following  extracts  from  that  which  he  issued 
on  the  feast  of  the  Assumption,  1866,  will  illustrate  his  zeal  and 
efforts  in  this  good  work. 

"  In  our  day,  many  sympathize  as  little  with  poor  Jesus  as  did 
the  Jews  of  old,  who  only  longed  for  a  rich  Messiah.  They  seek 
Him  to  this  day  without  finding  Him,  as  Christ  Himself  told  them. 
The  promises  of  God  in  regard  to  the  poor  are  disregarded,  because 
the  baneful  vices  of  avarice  and  pride  have  taken  possession  of 
their  hearts,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Jews  and  their  imitators 
in  all  ages.  The  spirit  of  religion  and  the  love  of  neighbor 
impelled  our  forefathers  to  erect  magnificent  churches,  schools, 
orphan  asylums,  hospitals,  universities  and  other  like  institutions, 
to  give  learned  men  and  saints  to  the  land.      Within   these  institu- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

tions  men  were  trained  for  the  object  of  their  existence,  and  while 
the  Te  Deum  resounds  within  those  time-honored  walls,  it  is 
re-echoed  by  the  saints  above,  who  erected  those  buildings." 

Bishop  Luers  intended  to  commence  the  erection  of  the  asy- 
iiiin  in  the  fall  of  1866,  but  unavoidable  delays  occurred  in  carry- 
ing out  his  plans.  In  the  meantime  he  learned  that  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  Jasper  county,  affording  a  more  suitable  site  for  the 
proposed  establishment,  was  offered  for  sale.  At  the  retreat  of 
the  clergy  held  at  the  university  of  Notre  Dame,  in  1867,  he 
announced  the  proposed  change  of  location  to  the  pastors,  who 
cordially  approved  his  views  and  pledged  themselves  to  their  sup- 
port. Inmiediately  after  the  close  of  the  retreat.  Bishop  Luers 
issued  an  admirable  address  on  the  subject  of  this  cherished  work, 
from  which  the  following  extracts  are  taken: 

Dearly  IJclovfd  111  Christ;  Tlu;  number  of  orphans  has  lately  increased  to 
such  an  extent,  that  the  erection  ot  an  asylum  for  them  has  become  an  imperative 
riccessity.  It  is  a  holy  duty,  incumbent  upon  us  all,  to  take  care  of  the  spiritual 
and  bodily  wants  of  those  who  have  no  longer  father  and  mother  to  do  it  for  them, 
and  who  like  strangers  now  wander  over  God's  wide  earth  imploring  our  pity, 
mercy  and  love. 

A  year  ago  1  purchased  twenty-five  acres  of  land  adjoining  this  city,  for  the 
j)urpose  of  building  such  an  asylum  upon  it,  but  as  yet  it  has  not  been  commenced. 
On  this  all-important  matter  I  consulted  with  the  clergy  lately  assembled  in  spirit- 
ual re'treat  at  Notre  Dame,  and  as  building  materials  and  labor  are  yet  very  high, 
the  building  to  be  erected  would  cost  from  $30,000  to  S85,000,  which  amount  would 
have  to  be  on  hand  immediately.  To  obtain  this  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  impossi- 
bility. It  was  therefore  unanimously  agreed  to  accept  the  favorable  offer  of  the 
Spiltcr  farm  at  Rensselaer  for  $18,000. 

This  place  contains  933  acres,  650  of  which  are  under  fence,  200  under  culti- 
vation, 200  wood,  the  balance  prairie.  There  are  on  it  two  dwelling-houses,  one  of 
which  contains  twelve  rooms,  affording  accommodation  for  forty  or  fifty  orphans. 

Experience  teaches  us  that  not  a  few  of  those  who  have  been  raised  in  the 
iisylums  of  our  large  cities,  for  want  of  suitable  employment  and  from  other  una- 
voidable causes,  have  not  realized  the  expectations,  considering  the  extraordinary 
care  and  attention  bestowed  upon  them.  Here,  upon  the  farm  selected,  the  chil- 
dren can  have  employment  suitable  to  their  age  and  strength,  and  growing  up  with 
industrious  habits,  they  can  become  men  who  will  be  an  honor  to  the  institution  and 
a  source  of  con.solation  to  their  benefactors. 

Having  purchased  the  farm.  Bishop  Luers  appointed  Rev. 
George  Steiner,  Rev.  J.  Mayer,  Rev.  P.  P.  Cooney  and  Rev.  E. 
P.  Walters  to  solicit  contributions  throughout  the  diocese,  and  to 
prepare    the    building  for    the   reception    of    the    orphans.      Rev. 

"1T67) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Joseph  Stephan  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  property  and  of  the 
immediate  preparation  for  the  orphans.  The  bishop  struggled 
through  many  discouragements.  In  September,  1868,  he  had  the 
happiness  of  seeing  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  welcoming  to  the 
farm-houses  thirty-five  destitute  orphans.  Soon  the  number 
increased  to  sixty.  He  gave  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time  and 
personal  attention  to  the  improvement  of  the  farm,  in  seeing  it  fenced, 
drained  and  cultivated.  He  used  to  mark  out  some  special  w^ork 
for  the  children,  and  then  superintended  its  performance.  He  took 
part  in  their  devotions  and  in  their  sports.  He  was  ever  a  most 
welcome  visitor  to  the  asylum,  and  his  visits  were  hailed  with  joy 
and  announced  by  every  tongue.  He  never  allowed  a  Christmas 
to  pass  without  an  appeal  and  collection  in  favor  of  the  orphans. 
After  his  death  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  his  life  insured  for 
their  benefit  to  the  amount  of  $10,000. 

His  affection  for  his  clergy  has  already  been  mentioned.  He 
felt  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  concerned  the  priests  of  his  diocese, 
and  especially  in  providing  for  their  support  in  old  age.  He 
earnestly  favored  the  plan  of  providing  for  the  support  of  aged 
priests  throughout  the  United  States,  and  called  the  attention  of 
the  second  plenary  council  of  Baltimore  to  this  important  subject. 
In  the  absemce  of  any  general  provision  on  this  point,  he  adopted  a 
plan  for  his  own  diocese,  and  encouraged  the  formation  of  the 
Catholic  Clerical  Benevolent  association  of  the  diocese  of  Fort 
Wayne. 

Bishop  Luers  on  many  occasions  became  a  champion  and 
defender  of  the  faith,  and  silenced  its  assailants  by  his  sermons  and 
lectures.  On  one  occasion  he  was  attacked  by  the  secular  press 
for  his  advocacy  of  Catholic  schools  for  Catholic  children,  his 
remarks  being  grossly  misrepresented.  He  replied  in  a  card,  from 
which  the  following  extract  is  taken: 

"It  is  with  me  a  matter  of  sincere  regret  that  our  non-Cath- 
olic friends  will  not  understand  the  Catholic  position  upon  the 
so-called  public-school  question.  We  do  not  object  to  Protest- 
ants sending  their  children  to  the  public  schools,  nor  to  their  sup- 
porting them  by  a  tax  or  in  any  other  way  they  may  deem  tit. 
We  have  not  the  slightest  intention  of  interfering  with  their  exist- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

ence.  They  may,  perhaps,  think  they  are  well  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  those  who  patroni;^e  them;  but  Catholic  parents,  who 
realize  the  sacred  obligations  of  preparing  their  children  not  only 
for  this  life  but  for  the  life  to  come,  prefer  to  see  their  children  in 
schools  where  religious  instruction  and  moral  discipline  go  hand  in 
hand  with  secular  education.  Many  Catholics  regard  it  a  hard- 
ship that  they  should  be  taxed  to  support  a  school  system  that 
they  do  not  and  cannot  approve;  but  in  Indiana  it  is  the  creature 
of  the  state  constitution,  and  until  that  instrument  is  changed  or 
amended  in  this  particular,  Catholics,  as  law-abiding  citizens, 
must  continue  to  bear  their  share  of  the  burden,  as  well  as  assume 
their  share  of  the  responsibility." 

Bishop  Luers  attended  the  provincial  councils  of  Cincinnati, 
and  sat  in  the  second  plenary  council  of  Baltimore,  which  assem- 
bled on  the  first  Sunday  of  October,  1866.  He  was  one  of  the 
prelates  excused  from  attending  the  general  council  of  the  Vatican, 
1869.  on  account  of  the  pressing  necessities  of  his  own  diocese, 
and  in  order  that  he  might  also  exercise  the  functions  of  the  epis- 
copal office  in  favor  of  neighboring  and  other  dioceses.  During 
its  continuation  he  administered  confirmation  in  almost  every 
county  of  three  states,  and  holy  orders  in  most  of  the  ecclesiatical 
seminaries.  It  was  while  rendering  services  in  another  diocese 
that  he  was  stricken  down  in  death. 

At  the  request  of  Very  Rev.  Edward  Hannin,  administrator 
of  the  diocese  of  Cleveland.  Bishop  Luers  went  to  that  city,  where 
he  arrived  on  the  evening  of  June  28,  1871,  to  confer  holy  orders 
on  some  of  the  ecclesiastical  students  of  the  seminary.  On  the 
following  morning  hesaid  mass  at  half  past  five,  and  then  gave 
minor  orders  to  three  seminarians  and  deaconship  to  another. 
After  breakfast  he  started  on  foot,  satchel  in  hand,  to  take  the 
train  for  another  diocese,  where  he  was  to  perform  a  similar  serv- 
ice, intending  to  call  on  the  way  at  the  episcopal  residence  in 
Cleveland.  A  carriage  had  been  ordered  to  the  seminary  for  him, 
but,  as  he  felt  so  well,  he  preferred  walking.  When  within  a  few 
rods  fron\  the  bishop's  house,  he  fell,  from  apoplexy  and  the  burst- 
ing of  a  blood-vessel.  Those  who  ran  to  his  aid,  perceiving  that 
he  was  an   ecclesiastic,  carried   him   to   the  bishop's  house,  where 

"(169) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

he  received  absolution,  extreme  unction,  and  the  last  indulgence. 
He  expired  in  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  after  the  fall. 

His  remains  were  carried,  in  a  funeral  train  draped  in  mourn- 
ing, from  Cleveland  to  Fort  Wayne,  escorted  by  clergymen  and 
laymen  from  both  dioceses.  Other  delegations  joined  the  sad  and 
solemn  funeral  at  various  points  on  the  way,  and  on  arrival  at  Fort 
Wa^'ne  every  honor  which  veneration,  love  and  religion  could  sug- 
gest was  paid  to  his  memory.  A  delegation  from  St.  Joseph's 
church,  Cincinnati,  went  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of  love  and  grat- 
itude to  their  former  pastor.  His  funeral  took  place  at  the  cathe- 
<iral  of  Fort  Wayne,  on  July  4,  and  was  attended  by  Archbishop 
Purcell,  Bishops  de  St.  Palais,  O'Hara,  Toebbe,  McCloskey  of 
Louisville,  and  Borgess;  by  the  Very  Rev.  Edward  Hannin  and  by 
a  large  concourse  of  the  clergy  and  laity.  Archbishop  Purcell 
delivered  a  glowing  eulogy  on  the  virtues  and  services  of  the 
deceased.  His  remains  were  deposited  in  a  vault  immediately  in 
front  of  the  altar,  under  the  floor  of  the  sanctuary  in  the  cathedral. 
The  age  of  Bishop  Luers  was  fifty-one  years  and  nine  months. 

Very  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  second  bishop  of  the  diocese 
of  Fort  Wayne,  was  born  in  Auglaize  county,  Ohio,  in  1837. 
When  about  three  years  of  age  his  father  died;  the  mother  then 
moved  to  Cincinnati.  The  boy  received  his  early  education  in 
the  schools  of  Holy  Trinity  church  in  that  city.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  years  the  boy  lost  his  mother,  and  he  was  cared  for  by  Rev. 
Andrew  Kunkler,  the  provincial  superior  of  the  religious  com- 
munity known  as  the  Congregation  of  the  Precious  Blood.  With 
these  Fathers  the  boy  completed  his  collegiate  course,  but  in  the 
higher  branches,  theology  and  the  accompanying  studies,  he  grad- 
uated at  Mount  St.  Mary's  provincial  seminary,  Cincinnati.  He 
was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  for  the  community  above  named, 
by  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Purcell,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two 
years,  by  papal  dispensation  of  course,  on  the  4th  of  September, 
1859.  The  young  priest  was  immediately  appointed  professor  and 
director  in  the  seminary  of  his  order,  a  position  which  he  held  for 
three  years,  and  he  also  founded  the  new  seminary  at  Carthagena, 
in  Mercer  county,   Ohio,  which    to  this  day  is  a  flourishing  institu- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

tion.  The  young  clergyman  was  next  engaged  in  parochial  work, 
from  which,  after  five  years,  he  was  called  to  a  more  difficult  duty. 
In  1866  Father  Joseph,  as  he  was  then  familiarly  known, 
accompanied  Archbishop  Purcell  to  the  second  plenary  council  of 
Baltimore  as  the  representative  of  the  order  to  which  he  belonged, 
and  also  in  the  capacity  of  theologian  to  the  archbishop.  From 
1867  to  1872  Father  Dwenger  was  exclusively  occupied  in  preach- 
ing missions  throughout  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Kentucky.  He  also 
held  the  office  of  secretary  and  consultant,  in  the  meantime,  in  the 
community  of  the  Precious  Blood.  Upon  the  death  of  Bishop 
Luers,  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  at  the  age  of  thirty-four  and  a  half 
years,  was  appointed  second  bishop  of  Fort  Wayne.  He  was  con- 
secrated for  the  exalted  position,  in  the  cathedral  of  Cincinnati,  by 
Archbishop  Purcell,  April  14,  1872,  and  without  any  delay  took 
charge  of  the  diocese  entrusted  to  him. 

In  1874  Bishop  Dwenger  went  to  Europe  with  the  first  Amer- 
ican pilgrimage,  of   which  he  was   the  acknowledged  head.      The 
objective  points  of  visits   were   Rome   and  Lourdes.      In   1875  he 
undertook  the  erection  of  an  asylum  in  which  he  intended  placing 
-orphan  boys,  who,  up   to   this   time,  had  been   cared  for,  together 
with  the  orphan  girls,  at   the   orphanage   at    Rensselaer.      He  pro- 
cured fifty  acres  of   land   adjoining  the   city   of   LaFayette,  upon 
which  he  erected  a  commodious  four-story  brick  building,  at  a  cost 
of  $30,000.      The  new  asylum   is  called   St.  Joseph's    orphan  asy- 
lum and  manual    labor   school,    and  has  an  average   of  1 10  boys; 
ten  Sisters  of   Charity  and   two   Brothers  have  charge,  under    the 
direction  of  a  reverend  chaplain.      In  1879  the  bishop  appointed  a 
diocesan  school  board,  selecting  ten   clergymen,  to  whom  he  gave 
the  supervision  of  matters  pertaining  to   the   parochial  schools  of 
the  diocese"!      There   is  a    president  and   secretary  of  the   board, 
though  the  bishop  is  ex-officio  the  superior  officer.      The  diocese  is 
divided  into  seven  school  d  streets,  and  all  the  schools  in  every  dis- 
trict are  visited  once  a  year  and  examined  by  one  or  more  members 
-of  the  board.      A  printed  pamphlet  of  about  100   pages,  containing 
a  report  from  all  the  schools,  is  annually  submitted  to  the  bishop. 
This  is  known  as  the  diocesan  school   report.      This  same  S3'stem 
^was  afterward  adopted  by  the  provincial  council  of  Cincinnati  and  by 

"TTnj 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


the  plenary  council  of  Baltimore,  and  in  its  main  features  is  estab- 
lished ;'n  many  dioceses  of  the  United  States. 

In  1883  the  right  reverend  prelate  paid  his  official  visit  to 
Rome.  During  his  absence  Very  Rev.  J.  Benoit  was  administrator 
of  the  diocese.  In  1884  Bishop  Dwenger  celebrated  his  silver 
jubilee,  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  his  ordination  to  the  priest- 
hood. All  the  priests  of  his  diocese,  and  a  number  from  other 
parts,  gathered  in  the  cathedral  to  attend  the  ceremony.  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Rademacher,  of  Nashville,  preached  on  the  occasion. 

In  November  and  December,  1884,  the  bishop  attended  the 
third  plenary  council  of  Baltimore.  Among  the  thirteen  arch- 
bishops and  seventy  prelates,  he  was  the  nineteenth  bishop  in  point 
of  rank  and  seniority.  The  council  lasted  about  six  weeks.  In 
March  of  the  following  year,  he  left  for  Rome  in  the  interest  of  the 
late  Baltimore  council,  as  the  representative  of  the  American  hier- 
archy. The  bishop  spent  seven  months  in  the  Eternal  city.  To 
his  indefatigable  labors,  and  to  his  knowledge  of  affairs  pertaining 
to  the  church  in  America,  are  due  to  a  great  extent  the  sanction  of 
the  college  of  cardinals,  and  the  approbation  of  the  Pope,  of  the 
deliberations  of  the  last  council  of  Baltimore.  During  his  stay  in 
Rome,  the  bishop  was  the  guest  of  the  North  American  college. 
The  4th  of  July  was  at  hand.  The  authorities  of  the  college  were 
somewhat  timid  about  hoisting  the  American  colors  in  such  close 
proximity  to  the  Ouirinal  palace,  almost  in  sight  of  King  Humbert's 
dwelling.  But  the  bishop  came  to  the  fore,  and  as  an  American 
citizen  commanded  the  fiag  to  be  sent  to  the  top  of  the  staff,  amid 
the  joy  and  patriotic  exuberance  of  all  the  students,  who,  though 
beneath  Italian  skies,  never  forget  their  native  America,  nor  allow 
an  occasion  to  pass  without  singing  the  jpraises  of  fair  Columbia's- 
shores. 

In  1886  Bishop  Dwenger  carried  out  a  long  cherished  plan  of 

erecting  a  suitable  home  for  orphan  girls.      The   asylum   was  built 

on  a  twenty-five-acre  plat  of  ground  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of 

Fort  Wayne.      A  special  notice  is  given  this  asylum  in  that  part  of 

wj:k  Jivot  ed  to  the  Catholic  church  in  Fort  Wayne. 

Bishop  Dwenger  again  went  to  Europe,  in  September,  1888, 
on  an  official  visit,  and  was  in  consultation  with  the  cardinals,  and 

(T72r 


JRT.   REV.  JOSEPH   DWENGER. 

(DECEASED.) 


IN    THE    STATK    OI'    INDIANA. 

also  had  private  audience  with  Leo  XIII.  The  immense  debt  that 
rested  upon  the  diocese  when  Bishop  Dwenger  took  charge  has 
been  canceled  long  since.  Thousands  upon  thousands  of  dollars 
passed  through  his  hands  in  meeting  demands  that  came  upon  him 
in  the  earlier  history  of  his  regime;  also  thousands  upon  thousands, 
again,  were  carefully  expended  in  the  erection  of  two  commodious 
orphan  homes.  Large  ailiounts  of  money  were  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal during  the  years,  but  all  found  their  way  into  channels  that 
provide  bread  for  the  needy,  and  charity  for  the  homeless  child. 

The  diocese  over  which  Bishop  Dwenger  presided  comprised 
about  one-half  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  being  the  northern  portion, 
and  contained  forty-four  counties.  At  the  time  of  his  death  there 
were  in  his  diocese  120  priests,  130  churches  and  twenty  chapels, 
beside  one  university,  sixty-five  schools  and  about  9,000  pupils; 
two  orphan  a.sylums  and  five  hospitals.  During  his  administration 
as  bishop,  Mgr.  Dwenger  conferred  the  order  of  priesthood  upon 
many  young  men.  He  had  traveled  over  his  entire  diocese  as  a 
rule  once  in  every  two  years,  sometimes  oftener,  either  to  admin- 
ister confirmation  and  preach,  to  dedicate  a  church  or  perform 
some  other  episcopal  function.  He  was  altogether  a  man  of  won- 
derful energy  and  vitality  and  strength,  but  finally  succumbed  to 
an  attack  of  la  grippe,  and  for  nearly  three  years  prior  to  his 
death  had  transferred  to  his  vicar-general.  Rev.  Joseph  H. 
Branmier,  the  more  active  duties  of  the  bishopric.  The  lamented 
death  of  Bishop  Dwenger  took  place  January  22,  1893.  For 
some  months  prior  to  his  death  the  very  reverend  bishop  had  in 
contemplation  (and  so  provided  in  his  will  at  the  time)  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  very  Rev.  Joseph  Henry  Brammer  as  his  executor 
and  administrator  of  the  diocese,  and  this  office  the  latter  worthily 
filled  from  the  date  of  the  death  of  the  late  lamented  bishop  until 
the  installation  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Joseph  Rademacher, 
October  4,  1893. 

At  the  funeral  of  Bishop  Dwenger  (January  27,  1893),  the  fol- 
lowing distinguished  prelates  were  present:  Most  Rev.  William 
Henry  Elder,  archbishop  of  Cincinnati;  Most  Rev.  Frederic  X. 
Katzer,  archbishop,  Milwaukee;  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher, 
bishop  of  Nashville;    Rt.    Rev.    Henry   Joseph    Richter,   bishop  of 

"(175) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Grand  Rapids;  Rt.  Rev.  John  S.  Foley,  bishop  of  Detroit;  Rt. 
Rev.  Camillus  P.  Maes,  bishop  of  Covington;  Rt.  Rev.  John  Jans- 
sen,  bishop  of  Belleville;  Rt.  Rev.  Ignatius  F.  Horstmann,  bishop 
of  Cleveland;  also  175  priests.  The  relatives  of  the  bishop,  con- 
sisting of  Joseph  Dvvenger,  a  nephew,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  B. 
Speaker,  of  Cincinnati,  cousins,  and.  a  few  others  were  seated  in 
the  ordinary  pews. 

At  the  hour  of  <S:45  ^^1  the  reverend  clergy  assembled  in  the 
sacristy  of  the  cathedral,  and,  after  vesting,  proceeded  to  the 
sanctuary  and  began  the  ceremony  known  as  the  office  of  the  dead. 
This  impressive  right  consists  of  that  part  of  the  Roman  breviary 
which  is  said  only  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  some  one  of  the 
clergy.  The  hebdomadaries  were  the  Very  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering 
and  Rev.  L.  A.  Moench.  The  bishops,  eight  in  number,  wore 
their  miters,  which  are  always  used  for  ceremonials  of  this  nature. 
The  vestments  of  the  priests  were  also  those  used  on  such  occa- 
sions. Immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  the  office  of  the  dead, 
the  pontificate  requeim  mass  was  begun.  The  huge  organ  poured 
forth  its  solemn  strain  of  Wilt's  masterpiece,  and  the  choir  re- 
sponded, as  the  celebrant,  the  .Most  Rev.  William  Henry  Elder, 
D.  D..  began  the  intonation  of  the  mass.  The  archbishop's  assist- 
ants were  as  follows:  Assistant  priest,  the  \'ery  Rev.  J.  H.  Bram- 
mer;  deacon  of  the  mass.  Rev.  John  Bleckmann;  sub-deacon  of 
mass,  the  Rev.  John  R.  Ouinlan;  first  master  of  ceremonies,  the 
Rev.  John  R.  Dinnen;  second  master  of  ceremonies,  Rev.  W.  J. 
Ouinlan. 

The  elevation  of  the  host  was  particularly  impressive,  all  the 
uniformed  knights  kneeling  upon  their  swords.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  mass,  the  archbishop  took  his  seat  upon  the  throne,  opposite 
and  to  the  right  of  that  of  the  late  bishop.  The  sermon  was  deliv- 
ered from  the  heavily  draped  pulpit  by  the  Most  Rev.  Bishop  Rad- 
emacher,  of  Nashville,  Tenn.  He  had  been  a  life-long  friend  and 
was  probably  nearest  to  him  of  all  the  other  prelates.  He  said: 
"  I  am  requested  to  announce  that  cm  to-morrow  there  will  be  an 
anniversary  re(|uiem  mass  said  in  this  cathedral  for  the  late  Mgr. 
Benoit."  Bishop  Rademacher  then  read  the  ninth  chapter  of 
Maccabees,  choosing  for  the  te.xt  of  his  eulogy  the  sentence,   "  How 

(iW 


IN    THE    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

is  the  iiii};lity  man  fallen    that   saved   the   people    of    Israel."      He 
continued: 

Kight  years  ago  in  tliis  cathedral  a  scene  was  enacted  very  similar  to  tlj.- 
occasion  for  wliicli  we  are  now  officiating.  Then,  as  now,  the  remains  of  a  prelate 
the  good  Mgr.  Benoit,  liuilder  of  this  house  of  (iod,  the  earnest  pioneer  mission- 
ary—were conveyed  to  their  last  resting  place  beneath  the  sanctuary.  Before  the 
commimion  rail  upon  that  occasion,  uttering  the  words  of  light  in  the  midst  of  his 
people,  and  proud  in  manly  vigor,  you  all  remember  the  scene,  how  your  beloved 
Bishop  Dwenger  announced  a  most  touching  eulogy  and  deplored  the  loss  of  the 
good  Father  about  to  be  laid  at  rest  in  the  tomb.  Now  we  have  again  been  called 
to  mourn  the  loss  of  one  whose  tongue  was  as  elocjuent  as  any  heard,  whose  heart 
was  so  true,  so  gentle,  so  tender,  and  so  noble  that  we  are  again  reminded  "  How  is 
the  mighty  man  fallen  that  saved  the  peojjle  of  Israel." 

H  the  Israelites  had  cause  to  mourn  the  loss  of  their  mighty  leader  in  the  olil 
law,  how  much  more  have  we  of  the  new  law  to  mourn  the  loss  of  our  beloved 
bisho)),  for  no  ties  are  so  tender  as  that  siiiritual  union  which  unites  the  heart  of  a 
.  i.rie.st  to  his  people.  And  as  the  ties  which  bind  the  bishop  to  his  people  are  higher 
than  tlu)se  of  a  priest  by  virtue  of  his  great  responsibility,  therefore  we  have 
more  reasons  to  mourn  and  exclaim  "  How  is  the  mighty  man  fallen  that  saved  the 
people  of  Israel." 

He  was  your  bishop,  he  was  your  father,  he  was  your  spiritual  adviser;  he 
was  your  spiritual  wall  of  protection  against  every  enemy.  He  is  now  no  longer; 
and  although  cut  down  in  the  prime  of  life,  we  have  reason  to  rejoice,  for  the  words 
of  our  te.xt  serve  to  edify  the  memory  of  his  life  and  bid  us  draw  a  lesson  from  his 
illustrious  example  and  to  ever  cherish  his  memory. 

Bishop  Rademacher  then  gave  a  brief  sketch  of  the  hfe  of  the 
deceased,  telling  of  his  parentage,  who,  he  said,  were  poor  in 
worldly  goods,  but  were  rich  in  Christian  virtues.  He  concluded 
his  sermon  with  the  following  eloquent  words: 

Bishop  Dwenger  was  cast  by  nature  in  a  grand  mohl.  He  was  a  j.erfect 
specimen  of  manhood.  His  powers  of  endurement  were  wonderful.  His  capacity 
for  hard  work  was  enormous.  His  strong  faith  was  an  index  of  a  mind  clear  and 
logical  and  his  memory  was  prodigious  aftd  his  will  was  strong  and  unbending, 
when  he  knew  it  to  be  directed  for  the  right.  His  heart  was  as  pure  as  gold  and 
as  noble  and  generous  as  the  world  is  wide.  His  love  of  country  was  great,  not- 
withstanding it  had  been  said  to  the  contrary.  He  was  accustomed  to  say,  in 
speaking  of  himself,  that  he  was  born  under  an  oak  tree  and  his  love  of  his  native 
America  was  as  deep-rooted  as  the  roots  of  the  sturdy  oak.  His  work  for  the 
lambs  (the  orphans)  of  his  flock  alone  is  a  monument  which  should  forever  keep 
his  memory  fresh  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  He  had  an  open  eye  and  a  tender 
hand  for  every  need  of  the  diocese  over  which  he  ruled.  He  was  an  advocate  and 
chamiiion  of  the  education  of  the  children,  and  the  perfection  of  the  schools  under 
his  charge  was  his  constant  aim. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Three  years  agi)  he  was  stricken  with  hi  Krii)i)e,  and  the  long  months  of 
■suffering  which  followed  as  the  disease  developed  other  complications  brought 
him  closer  to  the  foot  of  the  cross  to  suffer,  as  did  our  dear  Lord,  the  coronation 
of  the  bitter  crown  of  thorns.  He  once  said  to  me  "  I  know  that  God  is  good,  be- 
cause He  has  sent  this  to  me.  1  know  that  He  is  merciful  to  me  now,  because  He 
makes  me  suffer;"  as  gold  is  cleansed  and  luiritied  by  fire,  so  has  he  been  pre- 
pared for  his  reward.  We  mourn,  but  yet  have  reasons  to  rejoice.  Think  often 
of  liis  example.  Keep  green  his  memory.  Pray  for  his  soul  that  he  may  soon  be 
admitted  to  his  reward.     Amen. 

The  following  members  of  the  Episcopac}',  who  were  to  offici- 
ate as  pall  bearers,  disposed  themselves  about  the  casket:  \'er}- 
Rev.  E.  P.  Walters,  V'ery  Rev.  M.  E.  Campion,  Very  Rev.  A.  B. 
Oechtering,  Very  Rev.  B.  Kroeger,  Very  Rev.  D.  Duehmig,  Very 
Rev.  J.  Decks.  Rev.  J.  H.  Hueser,  Rev.  J.  H.  Oechtering,  Rev. 
B.  Weidau,  Rev.  H.  Meissner,  Rev.  H.  Koehne  and  Rev.  E. 
Koenig.  The  remains  were  then  conveyed  into  the  sanctuary,  to 
the  vault,  and  carefully  lowered  to  their  last  resting  place  with 
great  solemnity.  Bishop  Dwenger  was  loved  in  every  part  of  his 
diocese.  He  was  in  many  respects  a  wonderful  man.  A  well 
known  banker  of  Fort  Wayne  remarked  recently  that  the  late 
bishop  was  the  greatest  financier  he  had  ever  known,  yet  he  was  not 
great  alone  in  temporal  matters,  but  in  the  spiritual.  The  numer- 
ous charitable  institutions  founded  by  him  will  always  remain  a 
monument  to  his  memor}'. 


(178) 


IN    THK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


CHAFTER    XI. 

THE      PRESENT      BISHOP     OF     FORT    WAYNE THE      RIGHT      REVEREND 

JOSEPH     RADEMACHER,    U.    D. — HIS    ADMIRABLE  ADMINISTRATION. 

THE  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  D.  D.,  third  bishop  of 
Fort  Wayne,  was  born  on  December  3,  1840,  in  Westphaha, 
Clinton  county,  Mich.  In  1855  his  parents  sent  him  to  St.  Vin- 
cent's college,  near  Latrobe,  Pa.,  a  famous  institution  of  learning 
in  charge  of  the  Benedictine  order,  where  he  completed  his  clas- 
sical and  philosophical  course,  and  entered  upon  the  study  of  the- 
ology. He  completed  the  latter  discipline  in  St.  Michael's  semi- 
nary at  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Becoming  affiliated  with  the  diocese  of 
Fort  Wayne,  he  was  promoted  to  the  priesthood  on  August2,  1863, 
by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Luers. 

His  first  charge  was  the  village  of  Attica,  Fountain  county, 
Ind.,  together  with  a  number  of  missions  in  the  adjoining  counties. 
After  laboring  there  with  signal  success  for  six  years,  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  Columbia  City.  Soon,  however,  his  sterling  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart  won  for  him  from  Bishop  Dwenger  the  well  mer- 
ited promotion  to  the  important  parish  of  St.  Mary's  in  the  epis- 
copal city  and  the  office  of  diocesan  chancelor.  In  June,  1880, 
he  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  church,  LaFayette,  to 
further  the  interests  of  that  large  and  important  congregation. 

The  Nashville,  Tenn.,  diocese  having  been  left  without  a 
bishop  after  the  translation  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Feehan  to 
Chicago,  in  April,  1883,  Father  Joseph  Rademacher  was  appointed 
to  that  see,  and  consecrated  bishop  of  Nashville  on  June  24,  of 
that  year.  His  administration  of  that  see  was  a  singularly  success- 
ful one,  and  he  added  materially  to  the  equipment  of  his  diocese. 
Dr.  Rademacher  was  one  of  the  two  American  prelates,  who,  in 
1889,  went  on  the  pilgrimage  to   Palestine,  and   he  was   the   only 


11 


(181) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

bishop  who  accompanied  the  pilgrims  through  the  whole  journey, 
the  other  prelate,  Dr.  Wigger,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  falling  sick  at 
Rome  and  being  obliged  to  discontinue  the  pilgrimage.  After  his 
return  Bishop  Rademacher  continued  his  administration  of  the 
diocese  with  renewed  vigor,  until,  on  July  13,  1893,  Pope  Leo 
XIII  appointed  him  to  Fort  Wayne,  Bishop  Dwenger  having  been 
called  to  his  reward  on  January  22  of  the  same  year. 

His  installation  in  the  catnedral  of  Fort  Wayne  on  the  even- 
ing of  October  4,  1893,  w^as  a  demonstration  ever  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  the  city.  The  entire  population  seemed  to  have 
turned  out  to  welcome  the  prelate,  who  had  endeared  himself  to 
all  during  his  former  residence  among  them. 

It  was  7:50  o'clock,  p.  M.,  when  the  special  train  arrived  at 
the  south  depot.  A  great  crowd  of  people  had  assembled;  red  fire 
and  other  fire  works  added  to  the  animation.  Uniformed  Knights 
kept  back  the  crowd  at  the  depot  and  allowed  the  guests  to  reach 
their  carriages.  The  carriages  soon  formed  at  the  head  of  the  pro- 
cession of  uniformed  and  non-uniformed  Catholic  societies  which 
awaited  the  arrival  of  the  bishop,  and  the  parade  then  moved 
toward  the  cathedral  in  the  following  order:  City  band,  committee 
on  reception,  Wayne  commandery,  C.  B.  L. ,  Indiana  Command- 
ery,  C.  B.  L.,  Emmett  commandery,  C.  B.  L. ,  St.  Julian  council, 
C.  B.  L.,  A.  O.  H.,  and  clergymen  in  carriages. 

At  the  cathedral  steps  a  great  throng  was  encountered.  Over  the 
doorway  the  word  "  Welcome  "  had  been  formed  from  hundreds  of 
flashing  electric  light  bulbs  and  just  beneath  hung  a  red  cross  in 
living  light.  As  the  carriage  conveying  the  bishop  and  archbishop 
drove  up,  Father  Brammer  and  other  clergymen  came  down  the 
steps  from  w^ithin  the  cathedral.  In  his  purple  robes  Bishop  Rad- 
emacher, accompanied  by  Archbishop  Elder,  halted  at  the  steps, 
where  the  bishop  was  addressed  by  Father  Brammer,  who 
extended  a  most  hearty  welcome  on  behalf  of  the  clergy  at  Fort 
Wayne.  "  Ever  since  the  death  of  Bishop  Dwenger."  said  Father 
Brammer,  "  it  has  been  the  earnest  wish  of  every  Catholic  of  this 
diocese  that  you  would  be  chosen  bishop.  For  this  reason,  and 
because  we  love  and  respect  you,  our  welcome  is  all  the  heartier." 

Attorney    William    P.    Breen    then  stepped    forward,  and  on 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

behalf  of  the  laity  addressed  the  bishop.      Among  other  things,  he 
said: 

Vou  come  no  stranger  to  the  threshold  of  Fort  Wayne's  cathedral.  You 
have  adorned  its  altar  and  graced  its  pulpit  in  years  gone  by.  As  a  distinguished, 
learned  priest,  it  was  once  your  cathedral,  and  when  exalted  to  the  episcopal  dig- 
nity we  always  thought  that  this  sacred  place,  the  enduring  and  beauteous  monu- 
iiunt  of  Bishops  Luers  and  Dwenger,  had  for  you  an  attractive  aspect. 

The  wisdom  of  Divine  Providence  enlightened  the  deliberations  of  the  pro- 
vincial council  and  illumined  the  action  of  the  Holy  See  in  your  preferment  to  this 
see,  and  we  are  profoundly  grateful  to  your  distinguished  episcopal  proteges  of 
the  province  of  Cincinnati  for  your  choice.  Ten  years  of  the  purple,  under  the 
trial,  labors  and  honors  of  another  diocese,  attest  your  j)<)ssession  in  an  eminent 
degree  of  the  parts  which  make  the  American  Catholic  bishop.  The  dio  ese  of 
Fort  Wayne  has  taken  no  backward  step,  but  holds  rank  with  the  leading  sees  of 
this  country.  And  while  the  papt  rs  may  have  been  premature  in  the  announce- 
ment of  the  erection  of  the  archdiocese  of  Fort  Wayne,  we  have  faith  enough  in 
your  ability  to  believe  that  the  great  state-  of  Indiana  shall  soon  possess  a  Catholic 
archdiocese  and  that  you  shall  be  its  tir.st  archbishop.  In  the  tirm  assurance  that 
your  success  in  Nashville  is  an  earnest  and  a  promise  of  the  success  and  honor 
which  shall  surely  follow  your  episcopal  endeavors  here,  we  extend  to  you  the 
broad,  deep  welcome  of  the  Catholic  heart  of  your  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne. 

Bi.shop  Rademacher  bowed  his  acknowledgments  and  passed 
on  into  the  cathedral.  After  the  singing  of  the  Ecce  Sacerdos  and 
brief  services  at  the  altar,  Bishop  Rademacher  ascended  the  pulpit. 
Among  other  things  he  said: 

I  netd  not  assure  you  of  my  warm  appreciation  of  the  welcome  which  you 
have  accorded  me,  despite  the  inclement  weather.  Yours  is  an  ardor  which  no 
rain  can  quench.  Yours  is  an  enthusiasm  which  no  water  can  dampen  Yours 
has  been  a  magnificent  demonstration  of  faith,  and  I  accejit  the  welcome  as  a  guar- 
antee upon  the  part  of  the  clergy  and  laity.  I  earnestly  ask  for  your  prayers,  not 
only  at  this  time,  but  in  years  to  come,  that  I  may  faithfully  perform  the  duties  of 
my  high  oftice  in  a  manner  befitting  the  glory  of  our  faith  In  conclusion  I  cannot 
but  allude  briefly  to  the  good  people  of  the  "Sunny  South"  from  whom  I  have  just 
parted.  Theirs  are  warm  hearts,  and  my  ten  years'  service  in  their  midst  were 
years  of  joy.  Yet  I  am  glad  to  be  among  you  here  in  Fort^Wayne,  for  it  was  my 
home  before  I  left  for  other  fields. 

After  benediction  and  the  singing  Te  Deum  the  congregation 
was  dismissed  and  the  visiting  clergy  were  assigned  to  the  episco- 
pal residence,  Wayne  and  Rich  hotels. 

At  9:30  o'clock,  October  4th,  the  cathedral  was  crowded  and 
a  few  moments  later  all  the  visiting  clergy  entered  the  sanctuary 
and  the   ceremony  attending   the   installation  and  pontifical   mass 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

was  begun.  The  officers  of  the  mass  were  as  follows:  Celebrant, 
Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  D.  D.  ;  assistant  priest,  \'ery  Rev. 
Joseph  Brammer;  deacons  of  honor,  Very  Rev.  E.  P.  Walters  and 
Rev,  E.  Koenig;  deacon  of  mass,  Rev.  John  R.  Ouinlan;  sub-deacon 
of  mass.  Rev.  C.  B.  Guendling;  master  of  ceremonies,  Rev.  W.  J. 
Quinlan;  chaplains  to  Archbishop  Elder,  Very  Rev.  Provincial 
Corby,  C.  S.  C. ,  and  Very  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering. 

The  installation  having  been  announced  by  Father  Brammer, 
the  mandatum,  or  bull,  of  Leo  XIII,  appointing  Bishop  Rade- 
macher to  be  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne  was  read  by 
Rev.  J.  H.  Hueser,  D.  D.,  of  Huntington.  The  document  was  read 
in  the  language  in  which  it  was  written — Latin.  The  bishop  was 
then  escorted  to  the  throne  at  the  left  of  the  altar,  where  Arch- 
bishop Elder  bestowed  the  customary  kiss  on  each  cheek.  This 
was  followed  by  the  kneeling  of  each  priest  in  turn  at  the  feet  of 
the  new  bishop  in  token  of  submission.  The  bishop  having  already 
been  consecrated  at  Nashville,  the  installation  ceremonies  were 
brief,  but  nevertheless  very  impressive.  After  this  ceremony  was 
concluded  the  bishop  was  clothed  in  the  proper  vestments  and 
began  the  mass,  intoning  in  a  clear,  strong  and  beautiful  voice, 
which  bespoke  perfect  health  and  physical  strength.  Wiegand's 
mass  in  honor  of  St.  Patrick  was  sung,  and  the  Veni  Creator  was 
a  fine  tenor  solo  by  Adolph  Schulte.  The  offertory  selection  was 
a  baritone  by  Messrs.  Weber  and   Bensman. 

Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Foley,  of  Detroit,  delivered  the  sermon, 
which  was  a  masterpiece  of  elocjuence.  He  chose  his  text  from 
St.  John,  chapter  sixteen,  verse  fifteen,  beginning.  "  You  have  not 
chosen  me,  but  I  you.  Go  forth,  therefore,  into  the  world,  teaching 
all  men  in  my  name,  for  lo,  I  am  with  you  even  unto  the  consum- 
mation of  the  world."  Bishop  Foley  then  said  "Christ  came 
down  from  Heaven  to  fulfill  the  will  of  His  father.  The  prophets 
and  the  patriarchs  of  ages  before  his  coming  pointed  the  advent  of 
our  Blessed  Redeemer,  who  was  to  come  for  the  salvation  of  man." 
Continuing,  he  spoke  of  the  early  history  of  the  church,  and  how 
it  had  been  founded  by  St.  Peter,  the  first  Pope,  who  was  the  most 
beloved  of  the  disciples  of  Christ.  The  speaker  then  elaborated 
upon  the  admirable  government  of  the  great  Catholic  hierarchy,  and 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

said  that  had  it  never  been  founded  and  nurtured  by  the  Divine 
will  it  could  never  have  stood  the  shocks  and  storms  of  two  thou- 
sand years.  To-day  the  church  is  flourishing  and  powerful  and  the 
Rock  of  Peter  was  as  solid  as  it  was  when  the  promise  was  made 
to  the  first  Pope,  "Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  f  will 
build  my  church  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
her."  Concluding,  Bishop  Foley  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to  Bishop 
Rademacher,  paying  him  as  high  a  compliment  as  it  was  possible 
for  one  distinguished  prelate  to  pay  another  of  equal  rank. 

After  the  mass.  Archbishop  Elder  made  a  strong  but  brief 
address,  congratulating  the  congregation  upon  the  fortunate  choice 
of  their  bishop,  and  saying  that,  while  all  this  ceremony  was  emi- 
nently fitting,  yet  each  individual  who  seeks  salvation  must  be  the 
great  factor  of  his  or  her  own  salvation.  The  archbishop  was  fol- 
lowed by  Bishop  Rademacher,  who  said  he  had  to  repeat  the 
sentiment  uttered  by  him  last  night  and  again  thank  his  many 
friends  for  their  warm  welcome.  After  the  congregation  had  been 
dismissed,  the  clergymen  attended  a  banquet  served  in  Library 
hall  in  their  honor. 

The  following  distinguished  divines  were  present:  Archbishop 
Katzer,  of  Milwaukee;  Archbishop  Elder,  of  Cincinnati;  Bishops 
Maes,  of  Covington,  Ky. ;  Watterson,  of  Columbus;  Foley,  of 
Detroit;  Horstmann,  of  Cleveland;  McClosky,  of  Louisville;  Rich- 
ter,  of  Grand  Rapids;  Janssens,  of  Belleville,  111. ;  Mgrs.  Thorpe,  \'. 
G.,  and  Joos,  V.  (j.,  of  Detroit,  and  Windhorst,  of  Chillicothe, 
Ohio;  V.  G.  Scheideler,  of  Indianapolis;  J.  C.  Albrinck,  of  Cincin- 
nati; G.  F.  Houck,  chancelor  of  the  diocese  of  Cleveland;  Peter 
Alstotaetter,  provincial  of  the  Franciscian  order;  W.  Corby,  pro- 
vincial of  the  Holy  Cross;  Henry  Brees,  provincial  of  the  order  of 
Precious  Blood;  Rev.  Father  Abelen,  of  Milwaukee;  Frank  Reilly, 
of  Milwaukee;  Constantine  Maujay,  of  Ellsworth,  Kas. ;  Frank 
O'Brien,  of  Kalamazoo;  Patrick  Gleason,  of  Nashville,  Tenn., 
administrator  of  the  diocese  which  Bishop  Rademacher  had 
just  left. 

Other  priests  were  Rev.  Fathers  F.  C.  Weichmann,  W.  C. 
Miller,  J.  H.  Guendling,  John  B.  Morris,  A.  E.  N.  Ellering  (Colum- 
bia City,  Ind.),  Charles  Lempers,  J.  Gillen,  P.  Johannes,  C.  S.  C. ; 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Frank  J.  Baumgartner,  Thomas  Buyse,  B.  J.  Spillard,  A.  Morris- 
sey,  N.  J.  Stoffel,  J.  W.  Clark,  S.  Czyzewski,  Joseph  H.  Kroll, 
John  Crawley,  J.  J.  Voght.  H.  Koehne,  C.  V.  Stetter,  D.  D.  ;  F. 
Lordemann,  L.  M.  Miller,  .Lucas  Gottleschoed,  William  Berg,  B. 
Biegel,  J.  B.  Berg,  Joseph  Flach,  M.  Zumbuelte,  A.  J.  Kroeger, 
\V.  J.  McGaskey,  John  R.  Dinnen,  P.  F.  Roche,  M.  E.  Campion, 
J.  C.  Abbott,  George  D.  Murphy,  M.  J.  Clifford,  P.  Louis  Haas, 
Robert  Vizwiz,  A.  M.  Quatmann,  H.  Meissner,  John  Bleckmann, 
E.  Gazzo.  J.  M.  Toohey,  A.  B.  Oechtering,  F.  Koerdt,  L.  A. 
Moench,  J.  Kemper,   Thomas   Vagnier,   J.  Jessing,  T.  R.  Thayer, 

D.  Duehmig,  F.  Ege.  G.  N.  Kelly,  John  H.  Bathe.  John  Crogan, 

E.  Boccard,  D.  J.  Mulcahy,  R.  J.  Crosson,  E.  P.  Walters,  John 
Dempsey,  A.  Henneberger,  W.  J.  Decker,  Stephan  Trout,  K. 
Kobylinski,  Charles  Becker  and  F.  Reilly. 

All  over  the  world  the  responsibilities  of  Catholic  bishops  are 
very  great,  and,  therefore,  the  best  gifted  men  are  required  for  the 
position.  This  is  much  more  the  case  in  a  country  of  the  highest 
civilization;  in  a  country  whose  people  consist  of  the  various  ele- 
ments of  all  nations;  in  a  country  comparatively  new,  where  new 
churches,  schools,  pastoral  residences,  hospitals  and  asylums  have 
to  be  erected,  and  where  there  are  no  permanent  funds,  established 
centuries  ago,  for  the  support  of  the  bishops,  priests  and  teachers 
of  parochial  schools. 

If  the  bishops,  John  Henry  Luers  and  Joseph  Dwenger,  nobly 
have  laid  the  foundation  for  building  up  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne 
under  circumstances  which  called  for  the  most  energetic  zeal  and 
practical  talent,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher  is  just  the  right  man 
to  finish  the  work  so  skilfully  commenced  and  to  bring  it  to  such 
a  perfection  that  his  successors  will  have  a  comparatively  easy 
task  to  keep  it  in  good  condition. 

To  summarize:  Bishop  Rademacher  has  been  in  practical  serv- 
ice for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  As  the  saying  goes:  "  He 
went  through  the  mill "  and  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  affairs  of  parishes  and  missions. 

Bishop  Luers  knew  his  sterling  qualities  and  confided  to  the 
newly  ordained  priest  thirteen   missions  at   once,  and    later   on.  in 


(186) 


IX    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

recognition  of  his  extraordinary  and  onerous  labors,  promoted  him 
to  an  easier  parish  in  Columbia  City. 

Bishop  Dvvenger,  who  had  been  his  fellow-student  in  Cincin- 
nati, remembering  his  /,ea.\,  charity  and  modesty,  felt  it  to  be  his 
duty  to  give  him  in  succession  the  then  largest  parishes  of  the 
diocese — St.  Mary's,  Fort  Wayne,  and  LaFayette;  and,  deeming 
him  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  a  bishop,  recommended  him  to  the 
vacant  see  at  Nashville,  Tenn. 

When  Bishop  Dwenger  went  to  his  reward,  both  the  bishops 
of  the  Cincinnati  province  and  the  clergy  of  the  Fort  Wayne  dio- 
cese felt  anxious  to  have  him  appointed  bishop  over  that  diocese 
where  his  labors  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  had  been  so  successful  and 
where  thousands  of  people  carried  his  beloved  name  in  their  heart. 
Vox  populi,  vox  Dei:  the  voice  of  the  people//'<?^^<;v/ to  be  the  voice 
of  God.  During  the  famous  world's  fair  he  was  sent  north  to  Fort 
Wayne.      Nashville's  loss  became  Fort  Wayne's  gain. 

In  this  northern  diocese  of  Indiana  great  changes  just  then  had 
taken  place.  The  discovery  of  natural  gas  in  the  south  of  the 
diocese  and  the  growth  of  Chicago  south  almost  into  Lake,  county, 
had  created  new  cities  and  brought  new  elements  of  numerous 
different  people  into  these  sections  of  the  state.  New  problems 
had  forced  themselves  on  the  new  bishop,  but  he  fully  proved  him- 
self to  be  master  of  the  situation  and  selected  the  right  men  for  the 
right  places,  filling  the  vacancies  also  with  the  proper  persons.  No 
place  has  been  neglected.  All  over  the  diocese  the  very  smallest 
missions  have  received  their  necessary  aid.  The  bishop  never 
spares  himself;  he  visits  every  parish,  every  school,  nay,  even  when 
utterly  fatigued,  sacrifices  himself  to  attend  literary,  musical  and 
dramatic  exercises  of  the  children  or  students,  in  order  to  encour- 
age them  in  all  the  branches  of  a  solid,  universal  and  perfect  edu- 
cation. His  aim  is  to  bring  children  and  people  to  the  highest 
standard  of  civilization  here  on  earth,  in  the  country  of  which  he 
is  a  native  and  to  which  he  seeks  to  endear  all  the  various  elements 
under  his  jurisdiction,  and,  by  good  government,  kind  words  and 
edifying  example,  to  lead  the  souls  under  his  paternal  care  to  the 
everlasting  happiness  of  heaven.  He  is  charity  and  meekness  per- 
sonified. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLicifY 

To  secure  the  assistance  of  his  priests  in  his  noble  undertak- 
ings, he  treats  them  with  the  greatest  impartiahty  as  well  as  with 
exceedingly  great  kindness,  acting  more  like  a  father  than  a  ruler. 
When  the  enormous  amount  of  his  diocesan  labor  is  considered, 
such  as  holy  confirmation  given  to  over  one  hundred  parishes 
within  every  two  years,  the  ordination  of  priests,  the  dedication  of 
churches  and  cemeteries,  etc.,  it  appears  like  heroism  for  the 
bishop  to  spend  whole  hours  in  succession  in  the  confessional  as  a 
common  priest  when  occasions  present  themselves,  or  to  hasten  to 
parishes  of  sick  priests,  and,  in  order  that  their  people  may  not 
have  to  forego  the  fruits  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  render  himself  their 
substitute  by  performing  the  parish  services. 

His  zeal  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  God  knows  no  bounds. 
He  has  succeeded  in  remodeling  the  cathedral  most  beautifully,  at 
the  expense  of  $75,000.  x\nd  as  the  God-Man,  who  triumphantly 
entered  the  city  of  Jerusalem  on  Palm  Sunday  vouchsafed  to  dwell 
in  the  poor  stable  of  Bethlehem,  so  the  bishop  urges  all  his  par- 
ishes, even  the  very  poorest  ones,  to  provide  for  such  altars  and 
vestments,  and  other  religious  articles,  as  are  becoming  the  majesty 
of  the  Savior.  To  unite  the  faithful  under  his  charge  in  the  bond 
of  genuine  piety  and  charity,  he  has  recommended  and  favored  the 
establishment  and  increase  of  the  various  sodalities  and  societies 
approved  by  the  church.  Hospitals  and  orphanages  enjoy  his 
tender  care.  No  branch  of  human  ailment,  be  it  corporal  or 
spiritual,  has  been  overlooked.      He  has  become  all  to  all. 

As  all  love  him,  all,  undoubtedly,  will  pray  for  a  long,  long 
preservation  of  his  beautiful  life. 

Bishop  Rademacher  is  a  man  of  superior  education,  not  only 
well  versed  in  Biblical  but  also  in  secular  history.  His  charity  and 
benevolence  have  frequently  brought  needed  help  to  the  poor  and 
distressed,  and  among  all  classes  of  people  and  all  denominations 
he  is  highly  regarded. 

In  his  own  church,  the  piety  erudition  and  innate  spirituality 
of  Bishop  Rademacher  have  been  the  occasion  of  many  of  the 
advanced  clergy  selecting  him  as  their  personal  spiritual  guide, 
director  and  counselor,  and  all  these,  or  nearly  all,  owe  to  his  judi- 
cious advice  their  ability  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  progress 

(TSST 


4. 


CATHEDRAL  OF  THE  IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION, 

FT.  WAYNE,  IND. 


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\ 


1 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

they  have  made  in  the  purification  of  their  own  minds  and  hearts 
and  the  refiex  condition  which  has  enabled  them  to  bear  up  against 
worldly  temptations  and  the  trials  and  asperities  of  the  flesh,  and 
to  sacrifice  their  own  comfort  to  the  welfare  of  the  flocks  over 
whom  they  have  been  called  upon  to  preside,  and  to  the  good  work 
of  the  church,  in  the  erection  of  school-houses  and  temples  of 
worship,  the  gathering  together  of  the  young  in  the  parochial 
schools  and  the  cure  of  souls  in  missions  barren  of  sanctified  influ- 
ences, the  holding  together  of  those  who  have  tempted  to  wan- 
der from  the  true  faith,  and  to  fortify  themselves  by  abstinence 
and  lives  of  austerity  for  the  holy  offices  to  which  they  have 
devoted  their  lives.  All  this  and  more,  Bishop  Rademacher  has 
done,  and  all  this  and  more  he  will  do;  but,  of  all  his  good  and 
arduous  work,  this  may  be  considered  the  chief. 


(189) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    DECEASED  VICARS-GENEKAL  OF    FORT    WAYNE  DIOCESE JULIAN 

BENOIT — JOSEPH    HENRY    BRAMMER. 

THE  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  Julian  Benoit,  \'.  G.,  was  born  at 
Septmoncel,  in  France,  on  the  17th  of  October,  1808.  At  an 
early  age  he  was  sent  to  St.  Claude,  the  episcopal  city,  to  enter 
college.  He  remained  there  from  his  eighth  to  his  sixteenth  year, 
when  he  began  to  study  philosophy  in  the  seminary  of  Vaud.  Scarce 
seventeen  years  old,  he  began  the  study  of  theology  in  the  seminary 
of  Orgelet.  Having  completed  his  theological  course  and  not  as 
yet  having  attained  the  required  age  for  ordination,  he  taught  for 
one  year  in  the  preparatory  seminary  of  Nozeroy.  Thence  he  went 
to  Lyons,  where  he  taught  for  four  years  and  wrote  for  a  leading 
journal  of  that  city.  There  he  also  received  the  sacred  orders  of 
subdeacon  and  deacon. 

* 

About  the  close  of  his  fourth  year  as  college  professor,  the 
Right  Rev.  Simon  Gabriel  Brute,  bishop  of  Vincennes,  Ind.,  came 
to  Lyons  in  the  interest  of  his  diocese  and  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  young  deacon,  Benoit.  The  latter  was  greatly  impressed 
with  the  American  bishop's  saintly  life  and  offered  himself  to  serve 
in  his  diocese.  He  was  accepted,  and  after  the  necessary  permis- 
sion was  obtained  from  his  own  bishop,  he  was  soon  on  his  way 
westward.  He  sailed  on  the  ist  of  June,  1836.  After  a  long  and 
tedious  voyage  of  fifty-two  days  he  reached  New  York,  and  pro- 
ceeded thence  to  St.  Mary's  seminary,  Baltimore.  He  was  ordained 
priest  by  Bishop  Brute  in  the  seminary  of  Mount  St.  Mary's, 
Emmittsburg,  Md. 

On  the  day  after  his  ordination  the  new  church  at  Frederick, 
Md.,  was  dedicated.  There  were  a  great  many  distinguished  prel- 
ates and  other  notable  ecclesiastics   present  on  that  occasion,  with 

(TooT 


RT.   REV.  JULIAN    BENOIT,  V.   G. 

(DECEAS    ED.) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

all  of  whom  the  young  priest  became  acquainted.  After  the  dedi- 
catory services  had  been  performed  with  the  usual  ceremonies, 
Bishops  Brute.  Purcell,  Father  Reynolds,  then  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Louisville,  and  later  bishop  of  Charleston,  S.  C. ,  and  Father 
Benoit  started  on  their  journey  over  the  mountains  by  stage  to 
Wheeling,  where  they  embarked  on  the  Ohio  river  for  Cincinnati. 
After  a  sojourn  there  of  three  days,  the  journey  was  continued  to 
Vincennes,  which  was  Bishop  Brute's  residence. 

Father  Benoit  was  at  once  appointed  pastor  of  the  village  of 
Leopold,  near  Evansville,  and  as  the  Wabash  &  Erie  canal  was 
then  being  constructed,  he  was  also  to  look  after  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  laborers  on  these  public  works.  After  a  time  on  this 
mission,  he  was  sent  to  Rome,  on  the  Ohio  river,  where  he  re- 
mained one  year,  after  which  he  was  sent  to  Chicago,  111. ,  as  assistant 
to  the  pastor.  Father  O'Meara.  From  Chicago  he  attended  Lock- 
port,  Joliet,  and  several  other  canal  towns.  Then  he  was  recalled 
and  sent  to  his  first  mission,  I^eopold.  After  three  and  one-half 
years  of  labor  in  these  missions,  for  which  time  he  had  received  the 
munificent  salary  of  sixty-three  dollars,  he  was  sent  to  Fort  Wayne, 
where  he  arrived  April  i6.  1840. 

The  remnants  of  the  old  fort,  Wayne,  still  stood  when  Father 
Benoit  arrived  in  the  town  of  that  name.  The  old  council  house 
of  the  Miami  Indians  remained;  it  stood  on  East  Main  street,  a  lit- 
tle west  of  the  fort.  The  place  was  frequented  by  the  Miainis, 
who  lived  in  northern  Indiana,  about  Fort  Wayne,  Huntington, 
and  Peru.  They  had  a  war-chief  and  a  peace-chief.  The  name 
of  the  first  was  Godfrey,  who  died  in  1840,  just  previous  to  Father 
Benoit's  arrival  in  Fort  Wayne.  The  name  of  the  peace-chief  was 
John  B.  de  Richardville.  He  died  in  the  fall  of  184 1.  He  was 
noted  for  his  shrewdness,  both  among  his  own  people  and  the 
whites. 

At  Fort  Wayne  Father  Benoit  found  a  frame  church,  rudely 
built,  not  plastered,  with  rough  boards  for  benches.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  building  were  35  X65  feet,  and  a  debt  rested  on  it  of 
$4,367.  Half  the  present  cathedral  square  had  been  purchased  for 
the  church,  but  had  not  been  paid  for.  In  the  course  of  time, 
under  the  management  of   Father    Benoit,    the   other  half   of   the 

"(193) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

square  was  secured,  and  the  whole  block  paid  for.  During  the  first 
six  months  of  his  residence  in  Fort  Wayne,  Father  Benoit  boarded 
with  Francis  Comparet,  after  which  time  he  rented  a  small  frame 
building  and  began  his  own  housekeeping. 

At  this  time  his  missionary  work  extended  from  Fort  Wayne 
and  vicinity  to  Academy,  Besancon,  Hesse  Cassel,  New  Haven, 
Decatur,  LaGro,  Huntington,  Columbia  City,  Warsaw,  Rome  City, 
Lima,  Girardot  and  Avilla,  with  sick  calls  as  far  as  Muncie.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  only  way  then  to  reach  these 
places,  except  a  few  canal  towns,  was  on  horseback.  Help  was 
sent  him,  as  the  labor  was  too  great  for  one  priest,  and  his  first 
assistant  was  Father  Hamion,  who  died  in  1842.  The  next  was 
Father  Rudolph,  who  came  with  Father  Benoit  from  Europe  in 
the  fall  of  the  same  year.  Father  Benoit  had  started  for  France 
in  1841. 

Father  Rudolph  remained  with  Father  Benoit  at  Fort  Wayne 
about  three  years.      Then  he  was  sent  to  the  southern  part  of  Indi- 
ana, where  he  became  the  founder  of  the  famous  Sisters'  convent 
and  church-buildings  in  Oldenburg,  Franklm  county. 

The  canal  between  Fort  Wayne  and  LaFayette  was  begun  in 
1835.  In  1840  it  was  continued  to  ths  Ohio  boundary.  Fever  was 
prevalent  among  the  laborers,  and  calls  were  frequent  for  the  cler- 
gy, who  endured  many  hardships  on  these  visits.  Father  Benoit 
was  twice  asked  by  Bishop  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  to  attend  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  Catholics  at  Defiance,  in  northern  Ohio.  He 
represented  to  the  bishop  the  great  burden  already  upon  him,  but 
on  the  request  of  Bishop  Brute,  to  whom  Bishop  Purcell  had  ap- 
plied, he  cheerfully  added  the  new  charge  to  his  already  numerous 
duties. 

In  1845,  Father  Benoit  brought  the  Sisters  of  Providence  from 
St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods,  Vigo  county,  to  Fort  Wayne,  to  open  a 
school.  Their  humble  beginning  in  the  work  which  their  benefac- 
tor so  happily  planted  has  since  grown  to  great  magnitude.  He 
furnished  their  house  completely,  and  helped  them  when  it  was  en- 
larged by  a  donation  of  $5,000.  He  also  opened  a  school  for  boys, 
in  a  shop  on  the  corner  of  Clinton  and  Jefferson  streets,  where  he 
afterward  built  the  present  brick  structure,  as  also  the  old  episcopal 


IN    THE    STATK    Ol"    INDIANA. 

residence  on  Calhoun  street,  which  afterward  gave  way  to  Library 
hall — all  out  of  his  own  funds.  He  also  erected  the  present 
episcopal  dwelling,  toward  which  the  diocese  contributed  about 
$2,000,  whilst  he  expended  about  $14,000  upon  it. 

Father  Benoit  had  made  some  prudent,  and,  in  some  instances, 
rather  venturesome  investments  and  speculations  in  real  estate 
about  the  opening  of  the  late  Civil  war.  From  these  invest- 
ments grew  his  handsome  fortune,  all  of  which  he  disposed  of  before 
his  death.  To  few  only  is  it  known  what  a  large  amount  he  gave  in 
secret  charities.  In  one  year  he  distributed  nearly  $2,000  to 
deserving  poor  people  who  had  made  known  their  wants  to  him. 
A  short  time  before  his  death  he  gave  to  St.  Joseph's  hospital  the 
sum  of  $2,000,  and  live  days  before  his  demise  he  entrusted  $400 
to  Father  Brammer,  to  be  expended  by  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
society  for  the  poor  of  Fort  Wayne. 

•In   1848  the  Indians   received  orders  from  the  government  to 
leave  their  reservations  about  Fort  Wayne  and  to  go  to  the  territory 
of  Kansas.     They  numbered  about  800  and  were  led  by  Chief  Lafon- 
taine,  whom,  together  with  his  wife  and  children,  Father  Benoit  had 
received  into  the  church.      The  Indians,  however,  refused  to  leave 
unless  Father  Benoit  would  go  with  them.    But  Bishop  de  la  Hail- 
andiere  of  Vincennes.then  governing  the  diocese,  refused  to  consent, 
desiring  that  Father  Benoit  should  not  leave  his  congregation.    Fin- 
ally the  government  sent  on  some  troops.      The  captain  called  on 
Father  Benoit  and  begged  him  to  lead  the  Indians  away  peacefully; 
♦'  for,  unless  you  go  with  them,  "  he  said.   "  they  will  not  go,  and 
I  will  be  obliged   to   hunt  them  down   like   wild    beasts   and   kill 
them."      Upon   these    representations    Father    Benoit  secured  the 
services  of    Father    Neyron,    the  only  other   survivor  of  .twenty- 
two   priests    who    came   to  Indiana    when     Father   Benoit  came, 
and    started   for    the   west  with    the  Indians.      The  tribe    started 
overland,  in  the  summer    of    1849,  and    Father    Benoit    went  by 
canal-boat  to  Cincinnati,  thence  on   the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers 
to  St.    Louis,  where  he  took  stage  for  what  is  now   Kansas  City. 
He  finally  reached  the  reservation   marked  out   for  the  Indians  by 
the  government,  and  stayed  in  the  encampment  about  two  weeks. 
He  returned  home  by  stage  the  entire    route,  traveling  day  and 

"095") 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

night  for  nine  days  in  one  continuous  trip.  Out  of  six  persons  in 
the  group  he  was  the  only  one  to  endure  the  hardships  of  the  jour- 
ney without  interrupting  it. 

Some  time  after  his  return  to  Fort  Wayne  Father  Benoit  was 
visited  by  Father  Badin,  who  remained  with  him  for  six  months. 
In  1853,  Father  Benoit  obtained  permission  to  go  to  New  Orleans, 
but  returned  after  a  short  time.  In  i860  he  visited  that  city  again, 
and  this  time  remained  about  seven  months.  On  both  occasions 
he  preached  the  lenten  sermons  in  the  cathedral  in  his  native 
tongue.  His  visit  on  this  last  occasion  was  to  solicit  funds  for  the 
building  of  the  Fort  Wayne  cathedral.  Just  before  leaving  Fort 
Wayne,  he  left  $1,000  with. the  building  committee,  Henry  Baker, 
Michael  Hedekin,  Morris  Cody  and  Jacob  Kintz,  who,  under  his 
directions,  laid  the  foundations  of  the  present  cathedral.  Together 
with  these  gentlemen.  Father  Benoit,  after  his  return  from  New 
Orleans,  began  gathering  a  subscription  for  the  new  building.  Dur- 
ing the  several  months  devoted  to  this  work  they  raised  a  list  of 
$18,000,  of  which  the  sum  of  $4,000  was  never  paid.  About  the 
time  the  building  was  completed,  a  fair  was  held  which  netted 
$2,600.  The  building  was  begun  in  i860.  The  corner-stone  was 
was  laid  on  Trinity  Sunday  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Luers,  the  ser- 
mon being  preached  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati.  The 
first  brick  was  laid  on  July  loth.  In  the  autumn  of  1861  the  stately 
edifice  was  finished  and  dedicated.  The  architects  were  Father 
Benoit  and  Thomas  Lau,  the  latter  also  contracting  for  the  car- 
penter work.  The  brick  work  was  done  by  James  Silver.  The 
cost  of  the  church,  exclusive  of  pews,  organ  and  altars,  was 
$54,000.  From  these  statements  can  be  gathered  what  credit  is 
due  to  Father  Benoit  in  building  the  cathedral. 

Father  Benoit's  first  appointment  as  vicar-general  was  in  1852, 
for  the  diocese  of  Vincennes.  After  the  erection  of  the  diocese  of 
Fort  Wayne,  Bishop  Luers  appointed  him  his  vicar-general.  Dur- 
ing Bishop  Luers'  visit  to  Europe,  in  1865,  Father  Benoit  was 
administrator  of  the  diocese. 

In  the  autumn  of  1865,  Father  Benoit  started  on  his  second 
visit  to  Europe,  and  was  absent  thirteen  months,  of  which  he 
spent  four  and  one-half  months  in  Rome.      He  was  a  frequent  vis- 

(196r 


IN    THE    STATE    OI"    INDIANA. 

itor  at  the  office  of  Cardinal  Barnabo,  with  whom  he  transacted 
business  for  different  parts  of  France  and  America.  Twice  he  was 
received  in  [irivate  audience  by  His  Holiness,  Pope  Pius  IX.  Dur- 
ing this  visit,  while  sojourning  in  France,  he  was  offered  the  posi- 
tion of  vicar-general  of  his  native  diocese  of  St.  Claude,  but  he 
preferred  to  return  to  the  people  whose  language  he  had  labored  to 
acquire  and  whose  customs  he  had  made  his  own  in  order  to  lead 
souls  to  God. 

In  1866,  at  the  second  plenary  council  of  Baltimore,  Father 
Benoit  acted  as  theologian  of  Bishop  Luers.  At  this  bishop's 
death,  he  again  became  administrator  of  the  diocese  until  the  con- 
secration of  the  new  bishop.  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  April 
14,  1872.  In  1874,  he  went  to  Europe  as  a  member  of  the  first 
American  pilgrimage,  and  was  absent  from  May  till  September. 
Rome,  with  her  celebrated  shrines  and  hallowed  spots,  was  the 
objective  point  of  these  pilgrims  from  the  United  States.  On  this 
occasion.  Father  Benoit  again  visited  the  mountain  home  of  his 
boyhood  days,  but  his  father  and  mother  were  no  longer  among  the 
living.      They  died  in  1852,  ten  years  after  his  first  visit  to  Europe. 

Bishop  Dwenger  confirmed  him  in  the  office  of  vicar-general, 
and  in  1883,  when  the  bishop  made  his  official  visit  to  Rome, 
appointed  him  administrator  of  the  diocese.  Just  previous  to  his 
departure,  Bishop  Dwenger  was  waited  on  by  the  clergy  of  his 
diocese,  and  asked  to  convey  to  the  Holy  Father  their  desire  to  see 
Father  Benoit  invested  with  the  purple  and  with  the  honors  and 
title  of  monsignor.  The  bishop  told  his  clergy  that  such  had 
already  been  his  own  plan,  heartily  concurred  in  their  wishes,  and 
stated  that  he  would  cheerfully  present  them  to  the  Holy  Father. 
In  accordance  with  this,  a  telegram  from  Rome  to  Father  Benoit, 
dated  June  12,  1883,  informed  him  of  the  honor  bestowed  on  him, 
and  the  papal  brief  was  received  shortly  afterward.  Translated 
from  the  Latin,  the  brief  reads  as  follows: 

To  our  beloved  son  in  Christ,  Julian  Benoit,  \'icar-General  of  the  diocese  of 
Fort  Wayne:  Beloved  son,  health  and  apostolic  benediction.  It  ^s  our  custom  to 
honor  ecclesiastics  who  seek  not  their  own,  but  seek  tlie  thinj^s  that  are  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  to  signify  with  a  willing  heart  marks  of  pontifical  benevolence  to  men 
that  fill  their  important  and  grave  office  in  the  church  with  zeal  and  prudence.  It 
is  made  known  to  us  that  you  excel  in  these   praiseworthy  labors.     'I'herefore,  we 

"(197) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

have  concluded  to  honor  you  with  our  particular  good  will,  absolving  you  from  any 
ex-communication,  interdict,  or  any  other  ecclesiastical  censures  in  whatever  man- 
ner, or  from  whatever  cause,  incurred,  if  perchance  such  have  been  incurred. 

In  testimony  whereof  we,  by  our  apostolic  authority,  hereby  constitute  you  a 
chaplain  to  ourself,  or  prelate  of  the  papal  household,  and  we  place  you  on  the 
roll  and  among  the  number  of  such  prelates.  We  grant  you,  therefore,  beloved 
son,  permission  to  wear  the  purple  and  mantelletta,  and  to  enjoy  all  the  honors 
and  privileges,  and  indults,  that  are  customarily  enjoyed  either  from  prescribed 
right  or  from  custom  and  use. 

Given  at  St.  Peter's,  Rome,  under  the  seal  of  the  Fisherman's  Ring,  this 
12th  day  of  June,  1888,  in  the  sixth  year  of  our  pontificate.       Leo  XIII,  Pope. 

It  may  be  well  to  state  here  that  it  is  an  old  formula  of  law 
in  the  church,  that  no  personal  favor  can  be  granted  to  any  one  by 
the  church,  if  that  person  should  chance  to  be  under  censures. 
Hence  the  expression  of  absolution  from  censures  which  invariably 
precedes  the  grant  of  any  honors,  titles  or  dignity. 

The  ceremony  of  the  now  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  Benoit's 
investiture  with  the  insignia  of  his  new  dignity  took  place  in  the 
cathedral  at  Fort  Wayne  on  the  i6th  of  August,  1883.  The  fol- 
lowing account  taken  from  the  Fort  Wayne  Sentinel  of  the  date 
just  mentioned  relates  to  this  ceremony: 

The  very  interesting  ceremony  of  investing  Very  Rev.  Father  Benoit  with 
the  purple,  and  conferring  on  him  the  title  and  dignity  of  Monsignor  and  prelate 
of  the  papal  household,  took  place  at  the  cathedral  this  forenoon.  The  ceremonies 
began  at  9:30  and  ended  shortly  after  11  a.m.  The  procession  moved  into  the 
the  sanctuary  in  the  following  order:  Cross  bearers,  acolytes,  visiting  clergy, 
officers  of  the  mass,  Father  Benoit,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Rademacher,  and  the  cele- 
brant, Right  Rev.  Bishop  Dwenger. 

The  ceremony  began  by  the  reading  of  the  papal  brief  announcing  the 
appointment,  which  was  read  in  Latin  by  Rev.  J.  F.  Lang,  the  bishop's  secretary. 
This  ended,  the  appointee  read  the  profession  of  faith,  after  which  the  benediction 
of  the  rochet,  mantelletta  and  ring  took  place,  then  the  investiture,  after  which 
pontifical  mass  was  begun. 

The  officers  of  the  mass  were  as  follows:  Celebrant,  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Dwenger:  assistant  priest.  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering,  of  Mishawaka;  deacons  of  honor. 
Rev.  M.  O'Reilly,  of  Valparaiso,  and  Rev.  E.  P.  Walters,  of  La  Fayette:  deacon 
and  subdeacon  of  the  mass.  Rev.  T.  Wilken,  of  Decatur,  and  Rev.  H.  A.  Boeckel- 
mann;  masters  of  ceremonies.  Rev.  J.  H.  Brammer  and  Rev.  J.  F.  Lang. 

Those  present  in  the  sanctuary,  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned, 
were  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  bishop  of  Nashville;  Right  Rev.  Julian 
Benoit,  the  newly  appointed  Monsignor;  Very  Rev.  E.  Serin,  superior  general  of 
the  order  of  Holy  Cross,  Notre  Dame:  Very  Rev.  A.  Granger,  C.  S.  C,  provincial  of 
the  same  order,  Notre  Dame;  Rev.  T.  E.  Walsh,  C.  S.  C,  president  of  Notre  Dame 
university;  Revs.  L.  A.   Moench,    Plymouth;    F.   C.  Wiechmann,  Warsaw;  J.  H. 

(IMT 


IN    THE    STATI-:    OI"    INDIANA. 

(;iuii(llm,t;,   LaFayetlc;   I),    ll(•il(^  O.  S.  !■ .,  l.aFayette;  C.    Lemper,  Attica;  J.  II. 

Halhe,  Wabash;  H.  Wiedaii,  iNew  Haven;  C.  Maujay,  Fowler;  II.  .\I.  Pla.ster,  Cov- 

inirton;   I).  DuehmiK,  Avilla;   F.  G,   Leiitz,  Tipton;  J.  ( 'pliaus,  New  Corydon:    li. 

Roche,  .Academy;  (,'.  .M.  Romer,  city;   15.  Hartmann,  Areola;   F.  Koerdt,  Sheldon; 

'1".    Ilibhelen,    lK)spital;     T.    liori;,  Avilla;  J.    (2uinlan,    Union    City;    W.  Schmidt. 

Muncie;  J.  H.  Oechtering,  city;  J.  K.  Dinnen,  Crawfordsville;  M.  F.  Kelly,  LaGro; 
.\.  .Messmann,  city;  T.  \'agnier,  Leo;  H.  Meissner.  Pern,  and  E.  Koenig,  city. 
All  in  all,  the  ceremony  was  not  only  grand,  but  of  an  edifying  nature. 
Everybody  knows  the  Monsignor  is  happy  over  his  new  dignity  and  the  feast  of 
the  day.  Congratulations  poured  in  upon  the  new  [)relate  after  the  ceiremony  all 
the  afternoon.  The  day  is  one  long  to  be  remembered  in  the  history  of  Catholic- 
ity in  P^ort  Wayne,  and  of  the  well  merited  honors  conferred  througli  our  right 
reverend  bishop  by  Leo  .X  1 1 1  on   Monsignor  Benoit. 

Earlier,  even  greater  honors  seemed  in  store  for  Father  Benoit, 
but  he  dechned  them.      When,  in  1871.  he  learned  to  a  certainty 
that  among  the  three   names  forwarded  to  Rome   from   which  one 
should  be  selected  as  the  next  bishop  of  Fort  Wayne,  his  own  was 
strongly  urged,  he  wrote  to  the  Eternal  city  and  presented  his  rea- 
sons for  not  desiring   the    appointment.      Among   other   things  he 
stated   his    advanced  age,    his    feebleness  and    rapidly    declining 
strength,  adding  that  the  propaganda  could  spare  itself  much  unnec- 
essary work  by  overlooking  his  name  in  the  case  entirely;  that  he 
could   not   under  any   circumstances  consent  to   accept    any  such 
position. 

The  only  memorandum  written  by  Father  Benoit  concerning 
the  early  history  of  Fort  Wayne  Catholics  is  as  follows: 

The  Jesuit  missionaries  that  may  have  visited  Fort  Wayne  when  it  was  a 
mere  trading  post  have  left  here  no  record  of  their  labors.  The  few  Catholics  that 
resided  here  were  visited  for  the  first  time  on  record,  on  the  1st  of  June,  1830,  by 
\ery  Rev.  Stephen  Theodore  Badin,  the  first  ordained  priest  in  the  L'nited  States. 
He  was  then  vicar-general  of  the  dioceses  of  Bardstown,  Ky.,  and  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
At  that  time  (1880)  the  state  of  Indiana  was  within  the  limits  of  the  diocese  of 
Bardstown,  the  bishop  of  which  was  the  Right  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  con- 
secrated November  4,  1810.  His  first  coadjutor  was  Right  Rev.  John  B.  David, 
consecrated  bishop  of  Mauricastro,  August  15,  1819;  and  his  second  coadjutor  was 
Right  Rev.  Guy  Ignatius  Chabrat,  consecrated  bishop  of  Bolivia,  Ju'y  20,  1884; 
whilst  his  third  coadjutor  was  Right  Rev.  Martin  John  Spalding,  consecrated  Sep- 
tember 10,  1848,  bishop  of  Langone,  after  the  see  of  Bardstown  hati  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  city  of  Louisville,  in  the  same  state  of  Kentuckv 

The  same  V^ery  Rev.  Stephen  Theodore  Badin  repeated  his  visits  to  Fort 
Wayne  in  1831,  offered  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass  and  preached  in  the  residence 
of  Francis  Comparet,  and  in  1832,  when  hi'  jjerformed  the  functions  of  his  ministrv 


12 


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A    HISTORY    Op-    CATHOLICITY 

in  the  residence  of  John  B.  Bequette,  whose  wife  is  still  living  in  Fort  Wayne  at 
the  present  day. 

The  next  priest  who  visited  this  city  was  Rev.  Picot,  then  pastor  of  the 
Catholics  of  \'incennes,  Knox  county,  Ind.,  September  25,  1882  Then  Very  Rev. 
Stephen  Theodore  Badin  was  again  in  Fort  Wayne,  December  25,  1882;  Rev. 
Boheme  also  in  1882;  Very  Rev.  Stephen  Theodore  Badin  in  1883  and  1834  Rev. 
Simon  P.  Lalumiere,  who  died  when  pastor  in  Terre  Haute,  visited  this  place  in 
1835;  Rev.  Felix  Matthew  Ruff,  in  1835:  Rev.  I.  F.  Terooren,  in  1835.  Rev.  Father 
Francis,  stationed  at  Logansport,  visited  the  Catholics  of  Fort  Wayne  in  January, 
February,  May,  June,  July  and  August. 

The  first  priest  permanently  appointed  pastor  of  the  Catholic  congregation 
of  Fort  Wayne  was  Rev  Louis  Muller,  who  took  possession  in  August,  1836,  and 
remained  until  the  16th  of  April,  1840. 

In  1835  Fort  Wayne  was  visited  by  the  saintly  Right  Rev.  Simon  Gabriel 
Brute,  first  bishop  of  Vincennes  In  the  beginning  of  1840,  Bishop  Guynemere  de 
la  Hailandiere,  second  bishop  of  Vincennes,  appointed  Rev.  Julian  Benoit  pastor 
of  St  Augustine's  church,  Fort  Wayne,  having  to  attend  LaGro,  Huntington,  Col- 
umbia City,  Warsaw,  Goshen,  .Avilla,  New  France,  New  Haven,  Besancon,  Hesse- 
Cassel  and  Decatur  His  first  assistant  was  Rev.  Joseph  Hamion,  a  saintly  young 
priest,  who  died  at  Logansport  in  the  early  part  of  1842.  His  second  assistant  was 
Rev.  Joseph  Rudolph,  who  died  in  Oldenburg,  Franklin  county,  after  many  years 
of  hard  missionary  .abors.  His  third  assistant  was  Rev  A  Carius,  who  remained 
but  a  short  time.  The  fourth  was  Alphonse  Munschina,  who  is  pastor  of  Lanes- 
ville,  \'incennes  diocese.  The  fifth  was  Rev.  Edward  Faller.  Lender  him  the 
German  speaking  part  of  St.  Augustine's  congregation  built  a  church  and  school- 
house,  and  that  formed  the  first  German-speaking  congregation  in  Fort  Wayne. 
Rev.  Edward  Faller  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  new  church,  placed  under  the 
patronage  of  the  mother  of  God  and  called  St.  Mary's.  The  division  took  p  ace 
in  1849. 

Father  Benoit,  as  he  was  lovingly  continued  to  be  called, 
devoted  himself  to  the  duties  of  his  position  of  vicar-general  and 
pastor  of  the  cathedral  with  great  zeal  till  November,  1884.  Then 
he  complained  of  a  severe  pain  in  his  left  ear  and  in  his  throat. 
He  would  not  consent  to  have  a  physician  called,  even  though  the 
pain  became  intense.  On  Bishop  Dwenger's  return  from  the 
third  plenary  council,  at  Baltimore,  the  malady  growing  worse,  the 
bishop  concluded  to  send  for  Dr.  Dills,  who  came  and  examined 
the  ear,  but  found  nothing  wrong  with  it.  E.xamining  the  throat, 
however,  he  soon  discovered  that  the  venerable  father  was  afflicted 
with  a  disease  that  would  end  his  days.  On  his  second  visit  Dr. 
Dills  brought  with  him  Drs.  Woodworth  and  De  Vilbess,  and  the 
three  pronounced  the  disease  cancer  of  the  throat.  Father  Benoit 
was  not  slow  to  discover  their  diagnosis,  and,  with  a  calm  and 

(200r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

deliberate  spirit  of  resignation,  he  began  to  prepare  for  his  final 
dissolution.  "Is  Providence  desires  to  take  me  by  the  throat,'' 
he  jocosely  remarked,   "  then  God's  will  be  done." 

An  altar  was  placed  in  his  room,  and  for  a  few  times  he  still 
felt  able  to  offer  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass.  Owing  to  the 
weakness  of  his  eyes  he  had  received,  some  time  in  November,  per- 
mission from  Rome  to  use  the  votive  mass  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
He  said  mass  for  the  last  time  on  Sunday,  January  ii,  1885.  On 
Friday  morning,  January  23d,  the  right  reverend  bishop  offered 
mass  in  the  room  of  his  saintly  vicar-general.  It  was  the  last  time 
the  latter  ever  assisted  at  the  holy  sacrifice.  The  evening  preced- 
ing, he  was  at  tea  with  the  episcopal  household,  and  spent  a  half 
hour  with  several  of  the  visiting  and  home  clergy  in  the  bishop's 
room.  Then  he  returned  to  his  own  apartments,  never  in  life  to 
leave  them  again.  His  sufferings  fro.m  this  time  increased,  yet  he 
bore  all  with  that  calm  resignation  to  God  that  is  characteristic 
only  of  a  saintly  soul  schooled  in  virtue  and  abandonment  to 
God's  will. 

One  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph's  hospital  had  been  detailed 
to  attend  Father  Benoit,  and  she  took  care  of  the  aged  prelate 
till  he  closed  his  eyes  in  death,  scarcely  allowing  herself  the  few 
hours  of  needed  rest  during  the  three  weeks  of  her  devoted  minis- 
trations. At  five  minutes  after  eight  o'clock  on  Monday  evening, 
January  26,  1885,  the  household  was  called  together  and  notified 
of  his  fast  approaching  death.  The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Rade- 
macher,  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  formerly  the  pastor  of  St.  Mary's 
church.  Fort  Wayne,  had  reached  the  house  a  few  hours  before. 
With  Bishop  Dwenger,  and  the  Rev.  Fathers  Koenig,  Brammer, 
Lang,  Boeckelmann  and  Ellering,  he  entered  the  room.  Kneelino- 
about  the  bedside  of  the  dying  prelate  were  also  a  number  of  Sis- 
ters, together  with  Mrs.  Legraw  and  Miss  Rousset.  Bishop  Rade- 
macher  read  the  commendatio  anima,  the  others  responding,  whilst 
Bishop  Dwenger  held  the  hands  of  the  e.xpiring  pioneer  priest, 
whose  hands  in  turn  clasped  the  crucifi.x.  The  last  sacraments  had 
been  administered  to  him  at  his  own  request,  in  the  full  enjoyment 
of  his  mental  faculties,  by  Rev.  A.  Messman,  of  St.  Peter's  church. 
Thus  passed  from  its  earthly  home  the  spirit  of  Julian  Benoit,  softly 

(20  1 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

as  the  ripened  fruit  is  detached  from  the  parent  bough.  Yea,  still 
more  gently  and  with  better  fragrance  did  the  soul  of  Julian  Benoit. 
on  the  eve  of  his  patron  saint's  feast,  passed  to  fruition  in  its  heav- 
enl}'  home. 

A  committee  of  arrangements  was  selected  from  the  several 
churches  of  the  city  to  take  charge  of  the  remains.  It  consisted 
of  the  following  gentlemen:  Cathedral — H.  C.  Graffe,  C.  F.  Muh- 
ler,  I\.  Baker,  James  Fox,  E.  F.  Carry,  K.  W.  T.  De  Wald,  P.  H. 
Kane  and  W.  P.  Breen.  St.  Mary's  church — H.  C.  Berghoff,  J. 
B.  Monning.  St.  Paul's  church — Joseph  Fox.  St.  Peter's  church 
— George  Jacoby.  The  cathedral  was  heavj]}'  draped  in  mourning. 
On  Thursday  morning  at  seven  o'clock  the  casket,  containing  the 
body  of  the  dead  prelate,  robed  in  clerical  vestments,  was  placed 
in  the  center  aisle. 

All  the  da}',  and  deep  into  the  night  whilst  the  taper  flickered 
toward  its  socket  and  the  four  guards  of  honor,  men  selected  from 
the  several  city  congregations,  watched  the  hours  away  until  others 
relieved  them,  a  stream  of  people  came  and  went.  They  took  a 
last  look  upon  the  genial  countenance,  genial  in  death  as  it  was  in 
life,  a  last  look  upon  him  who  for  nearly  forty-five  years  had  walked 
among  the  people  of  Fort  Wayne,  the.  model  man,  the  honored 
citizen,  the  pious  priest,  the  servant  of  (iod. 

On  Friday  morning,  at  nine  o'clock,  the  great  concourse  of 
clergy  that  had  gathered  assembled  in  the  sanctuary  recited  the 
"  office  of  the  dead." 

At  half-past  nine  the  officers  of  the  mass  tiled  into  the  sanc- 
tuary. They  were  as  follows:  Celebrant,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Rade- 
macher,  bishop  of  Nashville;  assistant  priest,  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechter- 
ing,  of  Mishawaka;  deacon.  Rev.  John  Bleckmann,  of  Delphi;  sub- 
deacon,  Rev.  H.  A.  Boeckelinann;  masters  of  ceremonies.  Rev.  J. 
H.  Brammerand  Rev.  John  ¥.  Lang.  The  following  additional 
clergy  were  in  the  sanctuary:  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  bishop  of 
Fort  Wayne,  orator  of  the  day;  Rt.  Rew  H.  J.  Richter,  bishop  of 
Grand  Rapids;  Monsignor  A.  Bessonies,  vicar-general,  Indianapo- 
lis; Very  Rev.  A.  Scheideler,  vicar-general,  Indianapolis;  Very 
Rev.  C.  J.  Roche,  vicar-general,-  Grand  Rapids;  Very  Rev.  E. 
Sorin,  superior-general  of  the  order  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Notre  Dame; 

(202) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Revs.  A.  Messman,  Fort  Wayne;  B.  Roche,  Academy;  L.  |.  Le- 
tourneau,  Notre  l)anie;T.  Vagnicr,  Leo;  A.  Young,  Auburn;  J. 
Ouinlan,  Union  City;  H.  T.  Wilken,  Decatur;  A.  J.  Kroeger, 
Goshen;  J.  A.  Twigg,  LaFayette;  C.  Lemper,  Attica;  J.  H.  Hues- 
er,  D.  I).,  Huntington;  J.  R.  Dinnen,  CrawfordsviIle;'W.  Schmidt, 
Muncie;  D.  J.  Mulcahy,  Lebanon;  J.  Hoss,  Monrceville;  C.  M. 
Romer,  Fort  Wayne;  F.  X.  Ege,  Girardot;  C.  Maujay,  Fowler;  J. 
A.  Mark,  Hesse  Cassel;  H.  Meissner,  Peru;  M.  F.  Kelley,  Kewan- 
na;  C.  Nigsch,  Winamac;  H.  F.  J.  Kroll,  Chesterton;  D.  J.  Hag- 
erty.  South  Bend;  L.  A.  Moench,  Plymouth;  M.  P.  Fallize,  South 
Bend;  P.  Johannes,  South  Bend;  C.  V.  Stetter,  D.  D.,  Dyer;  F.  ■ 
Koerdt,  Sheldon;  F.  G.  Lentz,  Tipton;  B.  Wiedau,  New  Haven; 
P.  Guethoff,  Roanoke;  A.  Ellering,  Warsaw;  J.  H.  Oechtering, 
Fort  Wayne;  H.  A.  Hellhake,  Columbia  City;  J.  H.  Guendling, 
LaFayette;  J.  H.  Bathe,  Wabash;  P.  F.  Roche,  LaGro;  J.  B. 
Crawley,  Laporte;  M.  Benzinger,  Kendallville;  T.  ^L  O'Leary, 
Valparaiso;  B.  Hartmann,  Areola;  W.  Kroeger,  Elkhart;  J.  Demp- 
sey,  LaFayette;  D.  Heile,  LaFayette;  F.  C.  Wiechmann,  Ander- 
son; T.  Hibbelen,  St.  Joseph's  hospital,  and  Rev.  F.  Veniard, 
Besancon.  Attendants  to  Bishop  Dwenger,  Rev.  E.  Koenig,  of 
Fort  Wayne,  and  Rev.  M.  O'Rielly,  of  Valparaiso. 

The  following  clergymen  were  selected  as  pall  bearers:   Revs. 

E.  Audran,  Jeffersonville;  E.  P.  Walters,  LaFayette;  D.  Dueh- 
mig,  Avilla;  M.  Zumbuelte,  Rensselaer;  B.  Kroeger,  Logansport; 
A.  Heitman,  St.  John.  The  following  from  among  the  laity  acted 
in  the  same  capacity:    H.  C.  Graffe,  K.  Baker,  C.  F.  Muhler.  Ed. 

F.  Carey,  R.  W.  T.   DeWald  and  Louis  focquel. 

In  close  pro.ximity  to  the  casket,  among  others,  were  the  ven- 
erable Jesse  L.  Williams  and  F.  P.  Randall;  Rev.  S.  A.  Northrup, 
of  the  First  Baptist  church;  Judge  O'Rourke,  Drs.  Dills  and  Din- 
nen, Louis  Peltier,  Hon.  John  Roach,  of  Huntington;  nineteen 
Sisters  of  Providence,  eight  Sisters  of  Charity  from  St.  Joseph's 
hospital,  and  si.\  Brothers  of  the  order  of  the  Holy  Cross. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  mass,  Rt.  I\ev.  Bishop  Dwenger 
ascended  the  pulpit  and  pronounced  the  eulogy,  which  was  as  fol- 
lows: 


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A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

In  tht'  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Amen. 
The  words  which  I  shall  read  to  you  are  taken  from  the   9th  chapter  of  the 
first  book  of  Maccabees,  beginning  with  the  l!»th  verse: 

And  Jonathan  and  Simon  took  Judas,  their  brother,  and  buried  him  in  the  sep- 
ulcher  of  their  fathers  in  the  city  of  Modin.  And  all  the  people  made  great 
lamentation,  and  they  mourned  him  many  days,  and  they  said:  How  is  the  mighty 
man  fallen  that  saved  the  people  of  Israel. 

Dearly  Beloved  in  Christ:  There  was  great  sorrow  and  lamentation  in  Israel 
when  they  buried  the  great  hero  and  priest,  Judas,  the  Maccabee.  There  is  great 
sorrow  and  grief  to-day  in  our  midst  when  we  bury  the  grand,  noble  prelate,  the  ven- 
erable pioneer  priest,  the  truly  apostolic  man  who  for  nearly  forty-five  years  has 
zealously  and  incessantly  labored  in.  our  midst,  and  of  whom  we  can  say  what 
St.  Luke  says  of  the  father  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  that  he  walked  in  the  com- 
mandments and  justification  of  God  without  rejjroach.  Next  April  it  would  be 
forty-five  years  that  our  dear  Father  Benoit  has  been  in  Fort  Wayne.  During  this 
long  period  of  time  he  has  indeed  walked  in  the  commandments  of  God  without 
reproach.  In  all  that  long  period  ot  time,  whatever  part  or  portion  we  may  pick 
out,  he  is  to  us  a  beautiful  example.  We  may  recall  the  days  and  years^we  may 
recall  the  different  incidents—everything  will  cause  us  to  love  and  to  cherish  the 
memory  of  the  noble  priest  who  has  gone  to  his  eternal  reward.  Many  here  in 
Fort  Wayne  and  the  neighborhood  who  have  already  passed  the  meridian  of  life 
were  baptized  by  his  hand;  many  to-day  venerate  their  father  who  instructed  them 
jn  the  holy  faith,  who  prepared  them  for  their  first  communion;  many  are  here 
today  whose  marriage  he  has  blessed;  manv  remember  how  faithfully  he  visited 
their  dying  father,  or  molher,  or  brolhtr,  or  sister,  how  cheerfully, he  brought  them 
the  last  consolations  of  religion.  In  truth,  it  is  only  a  few  days  since,  that  a  ven- 
erable matron  told  me  how  cheerfully  Father  Benoit  had  attended  her  sick  daugh- 
ter. Forty-five  years  of  constant  labor  are  now  over.  He  has  gone  to  his  eternal 
reward.  We  mourn  to-day  the  loss  of  our  dear  old  pastor;  of  a  dear  old  father, 
who  was  a  father  to  all.  We  mourn  to-day  the  loss  of  a  noble,  generous  benefactor 
to  the  poor.  In  fact,  my  dear  brethren,  a  man  must  be  a  stranger  in  Fort  Wayne 
who  does  not  know  and  appreciateour  sorrow.  I  am  sure  there  is  no  one  that  ever 
knew  Father  Benoit  but  mourns  to-day  with  sincere  grief.  There  is  no  one  that 
ever  knew  him  but  loved  and  venerated  him  as  a  true  priest  of  God. 

Father  Benoit,  as  you  know,  was  born  in  France,  on  the  ITth  of  October,  1808, 
of  humble,  pious,  but  well-to-do  parents.  Repeatedly  have  I  heara  him  speak  of 
his  pious,  good  parents,  especially  of  his  saintly  mother;  and  tears  would  some- 
times stand  in  his  eyes  when  he  would  tell  m-:  "  I  never  disobeyed  my  mother. 
I  never  refused  anything  to  my  mother."  It  was  especially  to  this  mother  that  he 
owed  his  vocation  in  the  priesthood.  As  a  mere  child  he  commenced  his  study 
for  that  holy  office,  and  endowed  with  splendid  talents  he  graduated  -  completed 
his  course  of  theology  before  he  could  be  ordained.  At  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
three  he  was  already  selected  as  professor,  and  at  the  eal-ly  age  of  twenty-four  he 
occupied  a  professor's  chair  in  the  Cirand  seminary  at  Lyons.  Shortly  after  the 
French  revolution,  when  the  ranks  of  the  clergy  were  thinned,  for  a  man  of  his  tal- 
ents, of  his  great  learning,  for  a  man  who  at  such  an  early  age  already  had  gained 
such  a  high  rank  and  jiosition,  every  i)rospect  of  honor,  of  ecclesiastical  prefer- 
ment, was  open.     It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  he  met,  for  the  first  time, 

(204j 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

the  saintly  Bisliop  Hniti'-.  the  first  hisliop  of  \'inc(Mincs.  The  diocese  of  V^incennes, 
embracing  all  the  state  of  Indiana,  nearly  all  the  state  of  Illinois,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  towns  and  settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  was  erected  in 
the  year  1834.  just  think  of  tliat  grand  country  now  dotted  with  churches,  now 
embracing  the  tlioceses  of  \'incennes,  of  Kort  Wayne,  of  Chicago,  of  Peoria,  of 
Alton  —  that  grand  country  was  then  a  mere  wilderness.  There  were  only  two 
priests  in  that  whole  district,  and  a  third  one  was  allowed  to  remain  a  short  time. 
It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  that  saintly  bishop  went  to  Europe  to  gather 
apostolic  men,  who  would  come  with  him  to  preach  the  gospel.  It  was  in  the 
house  of  a  merchant  that  father  Benoit  met  the  saintly  bishop,  who,  attracted  by 
liis  sanctity  and  by  his  learning,  invited  him  to  occupy  his  apartments  in  the  sem- 
inary. He  became  his  host;  he  attended  him  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Our  Lady  of 
Fouvrieres  near  Lyons,  and  at  that  celebrated  pilgrimage,  after  serving  the  mass 
of  that  apostolic  bishoj),  he  offered  his  services-  "  Vou,"  the  saintly  Bishop  Brute 
told  him,  "  are  a  spoiled  child;  you  will  never  do  for  the  missions  in  America;  you 
are  accustomed  to  all  comforts;  you  have  such  a  beautiful  position,  but  in  Amer- 
ica I  can  offer  you  nothing  but  corn  bread  and  bacon,  and  not  enough  of  that. 
There  will  be  many  a  night  when  you  will  have  no  shelter,  many  a  night  when  you 
will  have  no  bed,  many  a  day  and  night  when  you  will  have  to  be  on  horseback 
through  the  wilderness."  Father  Benoit  mere' y  answered.  "  Monseigneur,  if  you 
can  do  it,  why  cannot  I  ?  If  you  can  make  a  sacrifice  and  do  it  for  the  love  of 
God,  why  should  not  I,  a  young  man,  be  able  to  do  it  ?  "  "  Well,  then,  come  in  the 
name  of  God,"  the  holy  bishop  said,  and  he  did  come.  He  came  to  this  country  in 
the  year  1836,  and  remained  at  first  with  the  Sulpitians  to  study  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  was  ordained  the  24th  of  April,  1837. 

My  dear  brethren,  we  admire  the  faith  of  Abraham   when   he  left  his  father's 
house,  when  he   left  his   kindred,  when   he  went   at  the  command  of  God  into  a 
strange  country.     The  holy  scriptures  speak  of  this  faith  and  its  reward,  but,  my 
dear  brethren,  we  do  not  appreciate  that  grand,  noble  faith  that  animated  these 
pioneer   missionaries   when   they   bade    farewell    to    father    and    mother,    when 
they    bade    farewell   to  kindred,   to   all    that    the  world  loved  and    appreciated, 
when     they     went     into     a     strange     country,  into     a    mere    wilderness,    when 
they  went  with  the  absolute  certainty   that    privations  of   every  kind  would  be 
their  lot,  when  they  knew  beforehand  that  work  of  the   most  severe  nature  would 
be  demanded  of  them.     When   preaching  the   funeral   sermon  of  one  of  his  com- 
panions, one  of  these  same  missionaries  that  left  France  with  him  in  1836  —  when 
I  preached  the  funeral  sermon  t)f  Bjshop  de  Saint  Palais^    I  alluded  to  this  grand 
faith  which  animated  these  pioneer  priests,  the  grand  faith  that  strengtiiened  and 
nerved  them   to  bid   farewell  to   all,  and    I    alluded   to  what  is  said  of  Joseph  in 
Egypt,  that  he  went  to  a  land  whose  language  he  knew  not— a  strange  country,  a 
strange  language,  bidding  farewell  to  all   -  it  is  a  sacrifice  that  few  of  us  appreci- 
ate and  understand.     Father  Benoit  was  with  me  at    the  funeral,  and  when  I  said 
this  he  told  me,  with  tears  in  his  eyes:     "  I  had  the  courage  to  come  to  America, 
to  forsake  all;   I  had  the  courage  to  work  for  God"s  honor  and  glory;  with  a  sincere 
pang  I  bade  farewell  to  father  and  mother;  but  I  did  feel  homesick  when  I  was  in 
a  strange  country,  the  language  of  which  I  did  not  know." 

Father  Benoit,  as  you  all  j^erhaps  have  heard,  for  the  first  two  years  and  a 
half  attended  the  missions  in  the  southern   part  of   the   state,  mostly  on  the  Ohio 

(205) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

river  and  in  its  neighborhood.  During;;  this  time,  as  he  told  nie  rejieatedly,  he  had" 
the  magnificent  sum  of  sixty-three  dollars  in  two  years  and  a  half.  Ashe  told  me, 
"  My  business  talents  had  to  be  developed;  1  had  to  see  how  to  keep  from  starva- 
tion." After  some  time  he  was  sent  uj)  to  Chicago  and  in  that  neighborhood  to 
attend  the  poor  scattered  Catholics  that  lived  there.  Of  course,  there  were  no 
railroads;  of  course,  the  whole  distance  had  to  be  travele  1  on  horseback  through 
trac-sless  forests  and  waste  prairies,  and  only  a  few  days  before  his  deith  he  told 
of  a  beautiful  incident  that  happened  on  that  trip,  when,  late  in  the  afternoon,  he 
had  lost  his  way,  and  coming,  tired  and  weary,  to  a  lonely  dwelling  in  the  wilder- 
ness, he  begged  for  shelter  for  the  night,  stating  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
go  any  further.  The  man  said,  "Stranger,  it  is  hardly  possible;  I  have  but  a  poor 
hut;  I  have  no  bed  to  offer."  Father  Benoit  said  to  him,  "Merely  let  me  have 
shelter  for  my  horse.  I  will  lie  down  on  the  floor  or  in  the  hay  loft;  any  place  at 
all."  "Stranger,"  says  he,  "  if  you  are  so  easily  satisfied,  you  are  welcome.  Put 
uji  your  horse,  but  I  can  not  well  entertain  you,  for  my  wife  is  on  her  death-bed." 
He  went  into  the  house  and  was  astonished  to  see  some  few  Catholic 
pictures.  He  addressed  the  sick  woman  with  words  of  sympathy.  He  told 
her,  "  It  appears  to  me  you  are  a  Catholic."  "  I  am,"  said  the  poor 
woman.  "Now,  would  you  not  wish  before  you  dit-  to  see  a  priest?"  "Oh, 
this  has  been  my  prayer  for  seventeen  years  I  have  asked  the  intercession  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  that  I  might  see  a  priest  before  I  die  It  is  many  and  many  a  year 
since  I  have  seen  one.  I  have  had  no  opportunity  for  receiving  the  sacraments  " 
1-ather  Benoit  then  told  her,  "  Your  prayer  has  l)een  heard,  for  1  am  a  Catholic 
jjriest.  I  am  lost  in  the  woods  and  it  is  God  who  has  brought  me  here."  He  con- 
soled her;  he  heard  her  confession.  There  were  three  children.  He  found  that 
they  were  perfectly  instructed  in  their  catechism,  but  that  they  had  never  received 
any  sacraments.  He  remained  up  nearly  that  whole  night  and  the  next  day,  to 
l)repare  the  mother  and  children,  and  the  second  day  he  gave  the  last  sacraments 
to  the  mother  and  gave  the  first  communion  to  the  children,  and  the  poor  woman 
was  in  perfect  ecstacy  of  bliss  that  she  had  that  consolation  for  which  she  had 
ju-ayed  so  many  and  many  years,  and  whilst  Father  Benoit  was  taking  his  cu]) 
of  coffee  preparatory  to  leaving,  the  poor  woman  (juietly  slept  away.  What 
noble  testimony  to  this  pious  woman  that  her  children  were  well  instructed  in 
their  faith. 

As  you  well  know.  Father  Uenoit  came  to  Fort  W'avne  the  KUh  of  April, 
1*40.  He  was  the  only  j^riest  in  this  nortneastern  portion  of  Indiana.  He  had  to 
attend  the  Catholics  as  far  east  as  Defiance,  as  far  as  LaGro  to  the  north, 
and  to  the  south  almost  to  an  indefinite  extent.  We  hardly  appreciate,  espec- 
ially we  of  the  younger  clergy,  unless  we  are  ]jlaccd  in  (;xcei)tional  circum- 
stances, we  cannot  appreciate  the  labor  of  these  pioneer  priests.  Father  Benoit 
very  often  told  me  himself,  he  would  say  mass  in  Fort  Wayne,  and  then  the  same 
morning  ride  to  Huntington  or  Decatur,  and  there  say  mass,  of  course  fasting, 
l>reaching  and  att  nding  to  all  the  work.  I  very  often  heard  him  sav,  "  If  we  had 
a  sick  call,  if  it  was  only  twenty  miles,  we  thought  it  but  a  moderate  distance,  and 
did  not  think  it  a  great  hardship.  But  when  it  was  sixty,  seventv  or  eighty  miles, 
when  we  had  to  be  out  day  and  niijit  then  very  often  it  was  really  hard."  We, 
do  not  appreciate  tht:  liardshijjs  of  these  pioneer  missionaries,  because  then  the 
newly  arrive:!  emigrants  were  not  yet  acclimated,  and   we'-e  but   poorly   sheltered 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

and  lioust'd,  haviiiy;  such  jjoor  wells  and  drinkiiLj  llic  surface  water,  and  there  was 
more  sickness,  there  was  mow  inahiria.and  there  were  more  sick  calls  at  that  time 
tiian  there  are  now.  And  yet  where  is  there  any  one  who  can  say  tliat  he  did  not 
cheerfully  go,  however  ditlicult  it  niij,dit  have  been?  Who  ran  tell  the  hardships 
endured  durini;^  so  many  years?  Who  can  tell  the  work  that  has  been  jierformed 
in  this  i^rand  district  where,  under  the  eyes  of  Father  Henoit,  so  many  churches 
and  so  many  congregations  have  sprung  up?  Oh,  these  noble  apostolic  men,  who 
cast  the  seed  of  the  word  of  God  in  sorrow,  not  cmiIv  with  the  sweat  of  their  l)row, 
but  often  moistened  by  bitter  tears,  which  weakness,  fatigue  and  sickness  would 
force  from  them.  They  cast  the  seed  of  the  word  of  God  in  sorrow,  but  Father 
Henoit  had  the  consolation  of  se  ing  the  fruit  of  his  labors  spring  up  around  him. 
The  churches,  the  congregations,  and  certainly  you  will  agree  with  me,  the  salva- 
tion m  Israel,  the  growth  of  the  church  in  northeastern  Indiana,  is  attributal)le  to 
a  great  extent  prin:ipally,  I  dare  say,  of  course  under  the  Providence  of  God, 
whose  humble  instruments  we  are  is  attributable  to  the  n()])le  old  priest  to  whom 
we  show  our  last  honors  to-day. 

Fort  Wayne  was  but  small  at  the  time.  It  grew  u])  under  his  eye,  and  vo.i  all 
know  what  interest  he  took  with  every  one.  The  Indians  considered  him  their 
father  and  friend,  and  he  was  their  friend.  He  risked  his  life  for  them  and  barely 
escaped  death  on  account  of  liis  true  attachment  and  honesty  towards  the  Indians. 
He  was  a  friend  of  every  one  That  is  the  beauty  of  his  character.  We  may 
recall  those  five  and  forty  years  of  Father  Benoit's  life;  we  may  recall  any  incident: 
everything  shines  with  brightness,  witli  that  halo  of  a  true  priest  The  worst  we 
can  say  is  that  his  frank  candor,  his  truthfulness,  sometimes  hurt.  But  now,  when 
we  look  at  his  remains,  when  we  look  at  those  cold  lips,  cold  in  death,  which  were 
ever  truthful,  ever  honorable,  lips  which  never  spoke  a  dishonorable  wonl,  which 
had  a  kind  word  for  every  one,  whether  Catholic  or  not,  we  venerate  the  saintly 
priest.  When  we  look  at  that  countenance  so  kind  to  every  one.  that  C(  untenance 
which  your  little  children  loved  to  look  upon,  when  you  remember  that  it  was 
your  greatest  happiness  if  you  could  even  slip  away  from  your  father  or  mother  to 
visit  Father  Benoit  an<l  to  gather  around  him  that  countenance  is  now  cold  in 
death.  It  is  only  by  memory's  efforts  that  we  can  recall  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
so  often  our  dear  good  father.  The  hands  that  so  often  distributed  alms,  the  hands 
that  were  so  charitable,  are  now  cold  and  stiff  in  death. 

Father  Benoit,  as  you  well  know,  owing  tt)  his  i)usiness  capacitv  and  jud'- 
cious  investments  in  real  estate,  had  s-onu-  property.  Look  at  this  noble  cathe- 
dral; it  is  mostly  his  work;  he  has  contributed  l)etween  $50,000  and  SGO.OOO.  and 
the  congregation  Contributed  only  one-fourth.  Look  at  the  schools;  look  at  this 
beautiful  property.  When  he  came  here  there  was  but  a  small  frame  church 
unfinished,  and  only  half  of  this  block.  He  paid  that  debt  of  nearly  S."),00o.  He 
purchased  the  remainder  of  this  scpiare.  Look  at  the  schools;  thev  are  his  work. 
The  diocese  contributed  but  a  small  amount  to  the  present  episcopal  residence. 
Not  only  in  such  a  manner,  but  in  many  ways,  was  Father  Benoit  royal  in  his 
charily.  I  know  that  when  I  was  his  banker,  when  the  money  i)assed  through  un- 
hands, more  than  $2,000  were  given  witiiin  one  year  to  poor  peojile  here  in  the  city 
ol  Fort  Wayne— i)oor  that  no  one  knew  about.  And  I  know  this  was  his  custom; 
he  had  the  most  generous,  the  most  noble  nature.  Charity  was  a  virtue  that 
entered  through  every  fiber  of  his  heart,  and  especially  the  clergy  will  testify  what 

"(207) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

a  noble,  charitable  father,  Father  Benoit  was.  On  that  slab  over  his  tomb,  we 
placed  the  words,  "  A  father  to  the  clergy."  He  was  that— truly  and  nobly. 
How  often  during  nearly  thirteen  years  that  I  am  here  did  he  advise,  counsel  and 
help  them  with  his  means,  and  how  often  did  he  plead  tor  them?  But  we  have 
lost  a  father  on  earth.  The  poor  of  Fort  Wayne  have  lost  a  father  and  generous 
friend.  The  inhabitants  of  Fort  Wayne  have  lost  a  friend  who  sympathized  with 
them,  who  gave  them  the  most  prudent  advice,  who  was  ready  to  help  any  one. 
In  fact,  charity,  it  may  be  well  said — charity,  guided  by  and  grounded  on  faith — 
was  the  predominant  virtue  of  the  great  priest  whose  remains  we  lay  at  rest.  His 
worth,  his  labors,  were  appreciated. 

As  early  as  1862  he  was  appointed  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  \'in- 
cennes.  And  when  northern  Indiana  was  erected  into  a  diocese  at  the  close  of  1857, 
the  bishops  of  the  province  thought  so  much  of  him  that  they  placed  him  at  the 
head  of  the  list  to  be  first  bishop  of  Fort  Wayne.  God  ordained  otherwise,  and 
when,  fourteen  years  afterwards,  the  see  was  again  vacant,  I  was  in  hopes  the  good 
and  venerable  priest,  so  worthy,  would  be  appointed.  I  did  not  desire  the  appoint- 
ment for  myself;  I  thought  he  ought  to  have  the  honor  of  the  position;  but  he  felt 
that  his  health  was  very  poor,  and  he  himself  wrote  to  Rome  that  under  no  circum- 
stances would  he  accept  the  office.  When  I  was  appointed,  and  when  from  the 
highest  authorities  I  received  the  emphatic  intimation  that  if  I  was  not  a  coward  I 
ought  to  accept,  that  it  was  simply  a  duty,  I  then  wrote  to  our  dear  old  father  that 
I  had  been  in  hopes  he  would  receive  the  honor,  but  circumstances  were  such  that 
I  was  forced  to  accept.  I  acknowledged  to  him  that  I  appreciatetl  his  worth  and 
his  learning;  that  in  age  he  was  my  father,  that  as  a  father  I  would  love  and  honor 
him,  and  that  it  would  be  the  aim  of  my  life  to  have  his  old  days  pass  in  peace  and 
happmess.  I  meant  every  word  I  wrote,  and  to-day  it  is  my  joy  that  before  these 
remains  I  can  say  I  have  kept  it;  that  I  can  say  that  for  nearly  thirteen  years  there 
has  been  no  grief,  not  a  minute  of  grief,  caused  by  me.  His  days  were  happy  and 
contented,  and  he  was  a  true  father,  a  true  friend  and  a  prudent  adviser. 

It  was  this  last  summer  that  his  health  gave  way.  He  had  long  ago,  as  you 
well  know,  lost  the  acuteness  of  his  hearing,  and  last  summer  a  cataract  was  form- 
ing on  his  eye.  Unable  to  take  the  e.xercise  he  wished,  unable  to  spend  his  time  in 
reading  and  occupying  his  mind  to  prevent  loneliness,  he  keenly  felt  that  his  facul- 
ties were  on  the  decline.  When  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  gathered  here  to  cele- 
brate my  silver  jubilee  with  me,  we  all  expressed  the  hope  that  he  would  live  to 
celebrate  his  golden  jubilee.  He  told  us,  "  No,  I  will  be  under  the  ground  then." 
He  constantly  said,  for  the  last  year  especially,  that  he  would  not  live  very  long. 
He  feared  he  would  die  of  ajjoplexy,  and  for  the  last  two  years  told  me,  "  I  fear 
that  I  will  die  a  sudden  death.  But  I  am  prepared.  I  trust  in  the  mercy  of  God." 
During  the  time  of  the  council  he  received  permission  from  the  holy  father  to  say 
the  mass  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  every  day,  a  mass  that  he  could  learn  by  heart.  It 
was  during  the  council  that  his  malady  developed  itself.  He  thought  at  tirst  that 
it  was  but  a  pain  in  the  ear.  None  of  us  had  any  idea  of  his  real  affliction,  and  it 
was  only  after  a  little  while  that  we  could  intiuce  him  tocall  a  physician,  who  to  our 
sorrow  announced  to  us  that  it  was  a  cancer  of  the  throat.  And  in  regard  to  this,  I 
was  told,  but  a  few  days  ago.  by  one  of  the  ])riests  of  the  house,  that  when,  iluring 
our  retr(;at,  Father  Benoit  buried  an  old  ])ious  lady  of  this  congregation  -whom  he 
visited  often,  whom    he  assisted  and    sujjported     the  jiriests  returned  and  said  to 

(2U8j 


IN    Till':    STATK    Ol'     INDIANA. 

hini,  "  I'atluT  Henoit,  you  have  buried  Mrs.         ."     "Yes."     "Well,  wasn't  it 

a  terrible  thing  to  die  ol  cancer?"  "  No,"  said  Father  Henoit,  "  I  don't  think  so. 
I  have  i)rayed  for  it.  One  then  knows  tliat  death  is  nigli,  and  he  has  time  to  pre- 
pare, though  it  is  ])ainfal  enough  to  do  penance." 

When  Father  lienoit  turned  to  me  and  asked,  "  Bisho[),  is  it  not  cancer  that 
I  have  ?  "  I  told  him,  "  Father  Henoit,  yes.  We  are  no  children,  and  it  is  best  that 
you  know  the  truth."  "Certainly,"  said  he.  "Well,"  he  added,  in  his  humble 
way,  "  for  several  years  I  have  prayed  that  God  would  send  me  penance.  I  felt 
that  I  was  such  a  poor  sinner  "—these  were  his  words  "such  a  coward  in  doing 
penance,  that  I  begged  God  to  send  me  jjenance,  and  now  I  have  it."  Perfectly 
cheerful,  perfectly  contented.  I  told  him,  "  Father  lienoit,  you  know  well  enough 
that  I  sympathize  with  you,  but  I  would  a  great  deal  sooner  see  you  suffer,  and 
even  for  a  long  time,  than  have  the  message  brought  to  me  in  the  morning, '  Father 
Benoit  was  found  dead.'"  "That  is  so,"  said  he.  He  would"  not  beg  God  to 
relieve  him  of  it.  He  was  as  cheerful,  even  more  cheerful,  when  he  knew  the  sen- 
tence of  death  was  upon  him,  when  he  knew  that  death  was  inevitable.  When  he 
must  have  suffered  intense  agony  it  was  impossible  to  perceive  it — he  concealed 
his  pain.  With  death  before  his  eyes,  he  was  more  cheerful  than  ever,  and  repeat- 
edly he  said  to  me,  "  I  trust  indeed  in  the  infinite  mercy  of  God;  He  is  so  good  and 
so  merciful;  He  is  our  only  consolation."  And,  contrary  to  our  expectation,  from 
the  very  first  he  said,  "  It  will  not  last  long."  And  this  was  the  case.  Last  week 
he  broke  down  for  the  second  time.  As  soon  as  he  knew  that  he  was  fatally  sick 
he  received  the  last  sacraments.  He  had  said  mass  in  his  room  for  (luite  a  number 
of  days,  and  when  he  grew  too  weak  I  said  mass  there.  ,  .Sunday  a  week  and  dur- 
ing the  week  I  said  mass  in  his  room;  he  would  be  there  almost  dying,  yet  he 
would  kneel  to  receive  holy  communion  every  day  until  last  Friday,  when  coma 
set  in  and  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  do  so.  Signs  of  blood  poisoning  were 
easily  perceptible.  His  lungs  became  congested  owing  to  the  blood  poisoning,  the 
poisons  being  absorbed  by  that  circulation  that  is  so  great  in  the  throat  and  neck- 
Still  he  was  perfectly  cheerful,  though  sometimes  he  would  be  a  little  flighty, 
especially  Saturday  and  Sunday  night.  Yet  he  would  know  everybody  and  would 
have  perfect  sense.  He  asked  again  to  go  to  confession  and  received  again  the 
plenary  indulgence.  During  Saturday  night,  when  I  was  up  with  him  the  whole 
night,  he  repeated,  "  1  will  go  home  to  my  Father  and  die  to-day."  He  did  not  go 
home  that  day  but  rallied,  and  Sunday  afternoon  and  Monday  the  whole  day  he 
appeared  more  cheerful,  more  lively,  fully  as  strong,  even  though  contrary  to  all 
rules  of  nature.  The  physicians  said  they  never  saw  a  person  whose  vitality  was 
so  great.  When  the  right  reverend  bishop  of  Nashville,  formerly  one  of  our  priests 
and  an  intimate  friend  of  Father  Benoit,  hurried  here  on  Monday,  Father  Benoit 
knew  him  at  once,  smiled  and  spoke  most  cheerfully.  We  left  him  after  a  short 
time,  because  we  knew  that  speaking  was  so  painful  to  him.  He  would  rather 
rest;  he  would  rather  be  saying  some  prayers.  And  a  greater  part  of  .Sunday  and 
Monday  he  was  saying  his  prayers,  if  he  was  not  dozing.  We  knew  death  had  to 
come  very  soon.  Exhausted  nature  could  not  support  him  any  longer.  After 
supper,  the  bishop  of  Nashville  and  myself  and  some  priests  called  upon  him;  he 
spoke  again  cheerfully  and  kindly.  The  physician  visited  him  and  he  said  to  him 
and  also  to  the  sister,  after  we  had  left  the  room,  "  I  am  going  home  to  my  Father. 
I  thank  you  i\ir  your  kindness  to  me,  and  for  your  services,  and   when  I  am  in 

(209) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

heaven  I  will  pray  iov  you."  He  was  led  to  the  bed.  He  had  been  sitting  on  the 
chair,  and  immediately  the  sister  came  to  me.  Death  had  set  in.  He  was  cjuietly 
breathing.  We  had  time  to  say  the  prayers  for  the  dying,  when,  quietly,  without 
any  spasm,  without  any  effort,  he  sle|)t  away.  His  course  was  run.  He  could  look 
back  at  the  long  jieriod  of  years,  and  he  could  make  use  of  the  words  of  -St.  Paul, 
"  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I  have  preserved  the  faith,  and  now  I  hope  for  the 
cnnvn  of  immortal  glory  which  Ciod,  the  just  judge,  will  give  me."  His  course  was 
run;  he  was  an.\ious  to  die,  as  he  had  told  me  for  the  last  two  years,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  has  gained  the  crown  of  immortal  glory.  Looking  back  over  all 
these  sacrifices,  these  years  of  labor,  it  was  only  that  noble  faith  that  could  have 
upheld  him  in  times  of  trials  and  ilitficulties,  such  days,  for  instance,  as  the  times 
of  the  cholera  in  Fort  Wayne.  It  was  only  that  faith  that  could  strengthen  him  to 
endure  so  much.  It  is  only  that  great  mission  that  is  given  to  the  Catholic  church- 
that  grand  commission  of  the  risen  God,  "As  the  Father  sent  me,  so  do  I  send 
you  "  -that  could  uphold  him  during  the  many  years  of  trials  and  labors,  and  that 
could  give  ium  that  grace  to  act  as  the  true,  noble  priest,  as  he  has  done.  When, 
two  years  ago,  I  was  in  Rome,  speaking  to  the  Holy  Fatlier  about  my  diocese,  I 
mentioned  the  name  of  the  venerable  Father  Benoit,  and  said  that  it  would  be  a  great 
pleasure  if  tlie  Holy  .See  would  deign  to  honor  such  an  old  and  worthy  man.  The 
Holy  Father  said  to  me,  "  Certainly,  with  the  greatest  of  pleasure;  and  I  do  blame 
you  bishops  that  you  do  not  notify  the  Holy  .See  to  honor  such  men  who  are  so 
deserving,"  he  told  me.  "Tell  Monsignor  Jacobini  to  remind  me  of  this  and  make 
out  the  papers." 

We  have  lost  Father  Benoit,  and  yet  1  should  say  we  have  not  lost  him. 
That  is  the  beauty  of  the  Catholic  faith,  my  dear  brethren.  ,It  is  only  the  Catholic 
church  that  fully  appreciates  what  we  say  in  the  Apostles'  creed,  "I  believe  in  the 
communion  of  saints."  The  cold  hand  of  death  does  not  sever  the  tender  ties  of 
charity  that  unite  and  l)ind  us  to  our  dear  departed.  In  heaven  above  our  dear 
Father  will  be  as  kind  a  father,  as  kind  a  friend  as  on  earth,  and  more  so  because 
charity  is  more  perfect  in  heaven.  On  earth  our  charity  is  covered  with  the  dross 
of  human  weakness.  In  heaven  it  is  beautified,  perfected  ;  it  is  the  reigning  virtue 
in  heaven.  Our  faith  will  pass  into  vision,  our  hope  will  become  possession,  but 
charity  will  remain  forever.  Not  one  of  the  tender  ties  that  bound  our  good  old 
Father  Benoit  to  Fort  Wayne  and  to  every  citizen  has  been  snapped  or  rent 
asunder.  His  love  in  heaven  will  be  more  intense,  and  of  course  the  only  way  that 
charity  can  be  practiced  in  heaven  towards  us  poor  pilgrims  on  earth  is  by  uttering 
the  prayer  o{  charity  for  us.  We  pray  for  one  another  on  earth.  We  ask  the 
intercession  of  the  Blessed  \'irgin  with  God,  from  whom  all  good  comes.  There  is 
no  doubt  of  the  promise  of  Father  Benoit  that  he  could  pray  for  us.  And  we  should 
pray  for  him.  We  believe  in  the  communion  of  saints.  In  heaven  they  pray  for 
us,  in  heaven  thev  intercede  for  us,  and  we  should  also  intercede  and  pray  for  our 
dear  departed,  who  mav  vet  have  some  imperfection,  who  may  yet  have  something 
to  atone  for  ;  for  who  is  perfectly  spotless  and  pure  in  the  sight  of  God  ?  We 
pray  for  our  departed,  even  if  we  do  not  expect  it  necessary,  because  we  know 
that  the  prayer  of  charity  on  earth  is  never  lost,  and  it  is  therefore  that  I  beg  of 
you  to  pray  for  your  dear  old  F.ither  and  pastor.  He  wished  no  flowers,  but  he 
wished  rather  that  we  should  i>ray  for  him.  He  wished  rather  that  something 
should  be  given  to  the  poor  or  to  the  orjihans. 

(2T0)" 


IN'    Tin-:    STATi:    0|-    INDIANA. 

It  was  his  (icsirc  to  l)c  l)iiii((l  ilu-|-c  at  tlic  loot  dl  the  ctMUiminion  railing  ; 
tlif  \i'iy  spot  vvluTc  \vc  l)uiy  him  lie  selected  himself.  It  was  his  desire  ;  and  it 
was  his  desire  that  a  slal)  shoidd  he  put  there  to  rciniinl  those  who  ljo  to  holy  com- 
munion tlint  they  should  pray  for  their  old  pastor.  \'oii  will  see  the  slab  there 
with  the  inscription,  "  I'ray  for  the  soul  of  Right  Reverend  Julian  }3enoit,  Domestic 
I'relate  ol  the  Holy  .See,  a  true  Fatlui- to  the  Clergy,  a  generous  friend  to  the  poor, 
the  l)nilder  of  this  Cat!iedi-al."     In  his  name,  I  ask  your  prayers. 

And  another  thing  I  ask  you  to  remember  is  his  teachings,  his  advice.  When 
death  had  its  liand  u])on  him,  when  ht,-  knew  he  had  to  die,  he  was  making  plans, 
"  1  wish  to  see  such  and  such  a  one  ;  "  not  so  much  his  personal  friends,  but  he  was 
saying,  "There  is  a  negligent  Catholic,  there  is  a  poor  man  whom  I  received  into 
the  church,  there  is  a  poor  acquamtance  who  does  not  go  to  church  and  to  the  sac- 
raments." He  made  arrangements  to  visit  these,  and  when  he  w-as  not  able  to  go 
he  .sent  a  priest  to  say,  "  This  is  the  dying  recjuest  of  Father  Henoit  ;  attend  to 
your  religion  and  serve  your  C.od."  What  would  the  dying  words  of  Father  Benoit 
be  to  his  old  friends  and  accjuaintances  ?  "  Keep  your  faith,  serve  your  God,"  and 
1  have  no  doubt  he  woidd  say  to  us,  "  In  heaven  I  hope  to  meet  you  again."  Amen. 

After  the  sermon  the  last  absolution  was  pronounced  by  the 
right  reverend  bishop  of  the  diocese.  During  the  solemn  chant 
by  the  clergy  of  the  "Libera"  and  "  Benedictus  "  everybody 
seemed  wrapped  in  devotion,  uniting  in  a  prayer  for  the  venerated 
dead.  At  the  conclusion  of  this  chant.  Palestrina's  great  Misere 
was  rendered  by  the  choir — consisting  of  Messrs.  Weber,  Schulte, 
Strack,  Blaising,  Mesdames  Arnold  and  Mommer,  and  about  fif- 
teen others.  The  requiem,  Mr.  E.  Noll  at  the  organ,  had  been 
given  by  male  voices  only. 

\Miilst  the  plaintive  dirge  of  the  Misere  rang  through  the  great 
dome,  rang  out  as  though  from  trembling  voices,  the  corpse  was 
slowly  and  reverently  borne  into  the  sanctuary,  lowered  through 
the  floor  and  placed  in  a  vault  outside  the  communion  railing  to 
await  the  final  call  on  the  day  of  resurrection. 

By  way  of  digression,  it  may  be  remarked  here  that  the  last 
conversation  of  our  venerated  Father  when  with  us  for  the  last 
time  in  the  bishop's  rooms,  was — "  Well,  bishop,  I  came  into  the 
world  with  nothing,  and  I  want  to  go  out  of  it  with  nothing.  I 
have  about  disposed  of  all  I  had,  and  you  will  likely  find  that  you 
will  be  obliged  to  pay  my  funeral  expenses."  To  which  he  added 
in  broken  words,  with  a  deep  sigh,  "Bury  me  in  the  cathedral, 
outside  the  sanctuary  railing,  that  in  death,  as  I  was  in  life,  I  may 
be  among  the  people  whom  I  loved." 

~(2lT) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Amid  that  great  concourse  of  people,  crowded  into  pews, 
packed  into  every  aisle,  a  gathering  such  as  is  seldom  seen  within 
those  cathedral  walls,  a  great  congregation,  sighing  and  sobbing, 
weeping  and  lamenting.  Father  Benoit  was  laid  to  rest.  The  peo- 
ple wept,  the  clergy  mourned  and  the  city  was  in  sorrow  and  grief. 
May  God  grant  him  eternal  rest  in  heaven. 

Over  the  remains,  framed  into  the  floor,  is  a  marble  slab  four 
inches  thick,  two  feet  eight  inches  in  width,  and  four  feet  ten 
inches  in  length,  bearing  the  following  inscription: 

Pray  for  the  Soul  of  Rt.  Rev.  Julian  Benoit,  Domestic  Prelate  of  the  Holy 
See,  and  Vicar  General  of  the  Diocese:  To  the  Clergy  a  Devoted  Father,  to  the 
Poor  a  Generous  Friend:  the  Builder  of  this  Cathedral.  Born  October  17,  1808; 
Died  January  26,  1885.     May  he  rest  in  Peace! 

The  Very  Rev.  Joseph  Henry  Brammer,  Vicar-General,  was 
born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  in  October,  1839.  He  was  reared  in 
the  Lutheran  faith,  the  religion  of  his  parents.  In  early  life  he 
was  apprenticed  to  a  carpenter,  mastered  the  trade  and  followed 
it  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1854  he  caine  to  America  and  settled 
in  St.  Louis,  working  there  at  his  trade.  He  was  of  a  studious 
turn  and  of  a  deeply  religious  nature.  This  led  him  to  the  study 
of  religion.  After  listening  to  the  lectures  of  Father  Weber,  S.  J., 
and  a  sincere  inquiry  into  Catholic  doctrines,  he  determined  to 
embrace  the  faith,  and  was  received  into  the  Catholic  church  in  1859. 

With  the  ardor  of  a  sincere  convert,  he  determined  to  give  his 
life  to  the  propagation  of  the  true  faith  and  to  the  conversion  of 
souls  to  it.  He  longed  to  impart  to  others  what  he  himself  had 
learned,  and,  accordingly,  a  year  later,  began  his  collegiate  studies 
in  the  famous  Benedictine  college,  of  St.  Vincent,  Pennsylvania. 
There  and  at  St.  Michael's  college,  Pittsburg,  he  completed  the 
classical  course  and  then  entered  on  the  study  of  philosophy  and 
theology  in  Mt.  St.  Mary's  seminary,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

On  May  11,  1868,  he  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  the 
cathedral  at  Fort  Wayne,  and  was  immediately  appointed  assistant 
to  Father  Benoit,  pastor  of  the  cathedral  congregation. 

The  young  priest  soon  impressed  all  with  his  sincere  piety  and 
burning  zeal  for  the  service  of  God  and  the  welfare  of  humanity. 
During  the  declining  years  of  Father  Benoit  the  duties  of  the  vicar- 


^yC>^,    ^;      /^^y^^ri^^^^z.^'^^^^L--^ 


(Trg 


IN    TUK    STAT1-:    Ol'    INDIANA. 

general  devolved  upon  Father  Brainmer,  and  on  the  death  of  the 
venerable  pioneer  priest,  Father  Bramrner  was  appointed  to  suc- 
ceed him. 

As  vicar-general  ami  pastor  of  the  cathedral  his  great  abilities 
came  more  and  more  into  prominence.  When  Bishop  Dwenger 
visited  Rome,  in  1885  and  again  in  1888,  Father  Bramrner  was 
administrator  of  the  diocese.  During  the  last  years  of  Bishop 
Dweng^r's  life  most  of  the  arduous  duties  of  the  diocesan  adminis- 
tration fell  on  Father  Brammer,  and  for  nearly  four  years  he  worked 
almost  night  and  day.  These  great  responsibilities,  spiritual  and 
temporal,  could  not  fail  to  have  their  effect  on  one  who  was  con- 
scientious to  the  last  degree. 

As  pastor  of  the  cathedral  Father  Brammer  began,  in  1880, 
an  undertaking  which  had  been  the  dream  of  his  life — the  erection 
of  Library  hall,  adjoining  the  cathedral.  It  was  a  great  work,  but 
the  abilities  of  a  financier  were  brought  into  play  and  he  had  the 
building  almost  completed  before  his  parishioners  knew  how  he 
had  raised  the  funds.  During  a  journey  to  Europe  he  visited  Ire- 
land and  saw  the  far-famed  Irish  marble.  He  at  once  decided  to 
please  the  emigrants  from  the  Emerald  isle  in  Fort  Wayne  by  hav- 
ing some  of  the  stone  from  their  native  land  in  the  building.  He 
imported,  at  considerable  trouble  and  expense,  a  huge  block  of 
Irish  marble,  and  it  forms  the  corner-stone  of  Library  hall. 

Six  years  after  its  completion  St.  Vincent's  Orphan  asylum 
was  built,  and  the  grand  institution  is  the  result  of  the  disinterested 
labors  of  Father  Brammer  and  Bishop  Dwenger. 

It  had  long  been  the  desire  of  Father  Brammer  to  subject  the 
beautiful  cathedral  at  Fort  Wayne  to  a  thorough  restoration,  and 
in  1896  he  determined  to  do  so.  The  work  was  estimated  at  about 
$50,000.  Times  were  hard  and  the  zealous  pastor  had  a  keen 
appreciation  of  the  fact  that  few  of  his  parishioners  were  abund- 
antly blessed  with  this  world's  goods.  Nevertheless,  with  the  sub- 
lime faith  that  was  one  of  his  distinguishing  traits,  he  began  the 
work  and  in  a  few  months  completed  it. 

Father  Brammer  was  the  most  humble  of  men.  The  work- 
ingman  on  the  street,  black  or  white,  he  considered  his  equal.  The 
predominating  trait  of  his  character  was  charity.      It  was  literally 

"I2l5) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

unbounded.  The  poor  he  had  always  with  him.  They  were  his 
early  morning  callers,  and  his  days  were  devoted  to  listening  to  their 
stories,  relieving  their  wants,  correcting  their  faults  and  always 
blessing  them.  Sometimes  he  was  called  on  late  at  night  to  render 
aid  and  it  was  never  withheld.  Color,  race  and  creed  were  no 
distinction.  All  differences  vanished  when  the  plaint  of  need  was 
heard.  He  has  been  known  to  borrow  money  when  his  available 
funds  were  exhausted  in  almsgiving,  that  some  poor  family  might 
have  fire  and  food.  His  salary  went  to  allev  ate  distress,  to  feed 
the  hungry  and  to  clothe  the  naked.  He  has  been  known  to  give 
away  his  own  shoes  to  a  tramp  on  a  cold  morning.  On  another 
occasion  a  poor  woman  complained  in  the  depth  of  winter  that  her 
little  ones  suffered  from  cold  at  night.  Straightway  went  Father 
Brammer  to  his  own  room  and  gathered  his  blankets  and  quilts 
into  a  huge  bundle,  giving  them  to  the  poor  woman.  When  detected 
in  these  acts  of  self-denial  he  would  modestly  refuse  to  listen  to  a 
word  of  praise.  Instances  without  number  are  known  of  his  single- 
hearted  love  for  the  poor,  but  far  more  numerous  are  the  stories 
that  never  were  made  public  of  his  unstinted  liberality.  He  saw 
in  the  poor  the  reflection  of  Christ's  image,  and,  like  a  true  apostle, 
was  ever  ready  to  follow  in  the  path  laid  down-  for  him.  He  loved 
everyone  and  in  return  was  beloved  by  everyone  who  knew 
him.  He  knew  no  distinction  of  creed  or  race,  but  saw  in  every 
one  the  image  of  God,  a  soul  to  be  saved.  It  was  this  that,  coupled 
with  his  learning,  drew  people  not  of  his  own  faith  to  him  and 
proved  for  many  a  stepping-stone  to  entering  the  Catholic  church. 

One  of  the  institutions  close  to  his  heart  was  the  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  society,  whose  object  is  the  care  of  the  poor  and  needy. 
Realizing  the  benefits  of  organized  charity,  Father  Brammer 
formed  this  society  among  the  members  of  the  cathedral  parish 
many  years  ago,  and  its  record  is  a  noble  one.  Hundreds  of  poor 
families  have  been  relieved  through  its  medium  under  his  zealous 
direction. 

A  fervent  supporter  of  Christian  education.  Father  Brammer 
helped  to  bring  the  cathedral  schools  up  to  a  high  degree  of  excel- 
lence, and  maintained  a  careful  watch  over  their  growth,  evincing 


(216) 


LIBRARY    HALL, 

FT.   WAYNE,   IND. 


IN    THE    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

at  all  times  the  deepest  interest  in  the  welfare  and  advancement 
of  the  children. 

In  consequence  of  these  arduous  labors  Father  Brammer  suf- 
fered from  ill  health  for  several  years.  During  the  last  weeks  of 
his  life  he  was  conscious  of  his  gradual  decline  and  centered  his 
thoughts  on  the  departure  which  he  knew  was  imminent.  When 
unable  to  exercise  any  longer  his  priestly  functions,  he  gave  him- 
self to  meditation  and  prayer.  He  recited  his  office  to  the  last 
day  of  his  life. 

Sunday  evening,  June  19th,  Father  Brammer  sat  up  with  the 
other  priests  of  the  episcopal  household.  He  retired  feeling  no 
worse  than  usual.  One  of  the  priests  watched  at  his  bedside. 
During  the  night  a  change  for  the  worse  was  noticed.  The  house- 
hold was  called  to  his  bedside.  His  physician  arrived,  but  in  spite 
of  his  efforts  the  patient  sank  rapidly.  The  last  sacraments  were 
administered  while  he  was  yet  in  complete  possession  of  his  fac- 
ulties. He  died  peacefully  and  calmly  about  noon  on  Monday, 
June  20th,  1898. 

The  funeral  took  place  on  the  following  Thursday  at  the 
cathedral.  Bishop  Rademacher  celebrated  a  solemn  pontifical 
mass  of  requiem,  assisted  by  about  140  priests.  Very  Rev.  M.  E. 
Campion,  of  Logansport,  a  life  long  friend  of  the  deceased, 
preached  the  funeral  sermon,  and  no  priest  who  at  any  time  ever 
dwelt  among  the  people  of  Fort  Wayne  will  be  longer  remem- 
bered or  his  memory  blessed  more  heartily  than  the  good  and 
\'er\'  Rev.  Vicar-General  Brammer. 


13  (217) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCHES  IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA THE  PRIESTS 

IN  CHARGE  AND  THEIR  CONGREGATIONS — HISTORICAL  AND  STATIS- 
TICAL FACTS. 

IN  this  chapter  will  be  found  brief  records  of  the  various  Catholic 
churches  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  gleaned  from  the  most  reliable 
sources,  or  furnished,  in  most  instances,  by  the  pastors  themselves, 
and  brought  as  closely  as  possible  up  to  date.  The  arrangement 
will  be  found  in  alphabetical  order  as  to  location,  not  as  to  name 
of  church  or  parish,  nor  the  respective  importance  or  numerical 
strength  or  wealth  of  the  congregations. 

ALBION,    NOBLE  COUNTY. 

The  Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  at  Albion,  Noble  county, 
Ind.,  was  built  under  Rev.  D.  Duehmig  in  1873  and-was  conse- 
crated in  July  of  that  year  by  Bishop  Dwenger.  It  is  28x50 
feet  and  cost  $2,300,  which  amount  was  partly  collected  from 
laborers  when  the  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  was  built.  The  congregation 
numbered  twelve  families  in  the  beginning  and  has  not  perceptibly 
increased.  This  church  was  attended  as  a  mission  of  Avilla  until 
I  88 1,  then  as  a  mission  of  Ege  until  1890,  since  when  it  has  been 
attended  from  Auburn  by  the  Rev.  Fathers  Faust  and  Boccard,  the 
latter  now  pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 

ANni:RSON  TOWNSHIP,  pi;krv  county. 

St.  Mark's  Church,  Anderson  township.  Perry  county,  is  built 
of  freestone,  65x36  feet,  is  situated  seven  miles  from  Troy,  ten 
miles  from  Cannelton  and  twelve  miles  from  Leopold.  One  acre 
of  ground  with  a  frame  structure  on  it  was  bought  in  1 860  for 
school   purposes   by  Rev.    M.    Marendt.    of   Cannelton.       In    1863 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol"    INDIANA. 

Rev.  Terd  Huiidt,  of  Troy,  celebrated  mass  there.  Another  acre 
of  ground  was  secured  in  1863  for  cemetery.  Rev.  F.  P"riedin"-er 
next  attended  the  place.  During  1865  and  1866  Rev.  P.  Martin 
Marty,  O.  S.  B.,  occasionally  visited  St.  Mark's.  About  eighteen 
families,  in  1867,  under  the  direction  of  Father  Marendt,  began 
the  building  of  a  new  church,  and  on  April  25,  1869,  the  church 
and  a  new  bell  were  blessed  by  Father  Martin,  prior  of  St.  Mein- 
rad's.  From  September  8,  1867,  until  May,  1877,  Rev.  A.  Michael, 
of  Tell  City,  visited  St.  Mark's  twice  a  month.  In  1877  the  con- 
gregation had  increased  to  thirty-three  families. 

Rev.  John  B.  Unverzagt  was  appointed  the  first  resident  pas- 
tor at  St.  Mark's  on  July  21,  1877.  ^  parsonage  40x26  feet  was 
finished  December  20,  1877.  Other  necessary  improvements  were 
rapidly  made  and  the  church  supplied  with  everything  that  could 
be  required.  The  value  of  the  church  property  is  estimated  at 
$5,600.  Father  Unverzagt  took  his  departure  from  St.  Mark's 
church  in  March,  1879.  Rev.  Placidus  Zarn,  O.  S.  B.,  resided  at 
St.  Mark's  until  August,  1881,  though  he  for  a  time  visited  the 
place  from  St.  Meinrad.  Many  new  vestments  and  sanctuary  orna- 
ments were  procured  through  his  efforts.  Rev.  Peter  Hommes  was 
Father  Zarn's  successor  and  the  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Peter  Baron. 

ANDERSON",     MADISON    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Church  at  Anderson,  Madison  county,  Ind., 
was  dedicated  October  6,  1895,  but  it  is  necessary  that  a  brief 
review  of  the  parochial  history  be  had  before  a  description  of  the 
present  church  building  be  given. 

Prior  to,  or  at  least  as  far  back  as,  1837,  Catholic  clergymen 
visited  Anderson  from  Logansport,  and  it  is  on  record  that  the 
earlier  masses  were  read  by  Fathers  Francois  and  Bacquelin  in  a 
log  tavern.  In  1857  Father  Clarke  came  from  LaFayette  and  for 
several  months  celebrated  mass  in  the  court  house,  and  in  1858 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  first  Catholic  church  proper  on  the  site 
of  the  present  magnificent  edifice  alluded  to  in  the  opening  para- 
graph of  this  article.-  The  first  priest  assigned  to  the  charge  of 
this  church  as  resident  pastor  was  Father  Fitzmaurice,  who  was 
succeeded  in  i860  by  Father  McMahon,  who   left  in    1865    on  the 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ill-fated  Fenian  expedition  into  Canada.  In  1866  Rev.  J.  B. 
Crawley  followed  Father  McMahon  in  this  charge  and  remained 
until  Auj^ust,  1884.  This  zealous  clergyman  on  July  4,  1875,  laid 
the  corner-stone  of  the  second  St.  Mary's  church,  which  was  conse- 
crated May  29.  1877.  For  that  day  it  was  a  splendid  edifice,  the 
size  of  the  congregation  being  taken  into  consideration,  and  still 
stands,  although  now  used  for  school  purposes,  a  monument  to  the 
indefatigable  energy  of  Father  Crawley.  This  beloved  pastor  was 
succeeded  in  August,  1884,  by  Rev.  F.  C.  Wiechmann,  during  whose 
pastorate  the  parochial  residence  was  built,  natural  gas,  then  newly 
discovered,  was  introduced,  the  school-building  materially  enlarged 
and  steps  taken  for  the  enlargement  of  the  accommodation  of  the 
parishioners,  who  had  greatly  increased  in  numbers. 

But  it  remained  for  the  present  incumbent  of  the  pastorate — 
Rev.  Father  D.  J.  Mulcahy,  to  carry  out  the  latter  design.  Rev. 
Mulcahy  was  installed  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  May  7,  1891,  and  began 
the  work  set  before  him  with  a  vigor  that  resulted  in  triumphant 
success.  He  grasped  the  opportunity  of  bringing  to  fruition  the 
seed  that  had  already  been  sown  with  a  view  of  erecting  a  building 
commensurate  with  the  number  and  importance  of  his  congrega- 
tion. The  site  selected  for  the  new  edifice  was  that  of  the  first 
Catholic  building,  which  was  demolished  and  the  corner-stone  of 
present  church  was  laid  July  9,  1893,  and  the  work  energetically 
prosecuted  until  completion  and  dedication  October  6,  1895.  The 
ceremonies  on  this  occasion  were  of  the  most  solemn  and  imposing 
character  and  were  conducted  by  the  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rade- 
macher,  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne,  assisted  by  a  corps 
of  eminent  clergymen  and  accompanied  by  a  lay  demonstration 
never  before  witnessed  in  Anderson.  The  cost  of  this  magnificent 
structure  was  about  $45,000,  its  seating  capacity  is  for  800  people, 
and  its  completion  is  due,  to  a  large  degree,  to  the  exertions  of 
Father  Mulcahy. 

AUBURN,  UEKALB  COUNTY. 

Immaculate  Conception  Church,  at  Auburn,  Dekalb  county, 
Ind.,  was  organized  August  5,  1872,  by  Rev.  Augustus  Young,  who 
came  from  Fort  Wayne.      At  that  time  there  were  only  five  Cath- 

(220) 


IN    THE    STATE    OI-     INDIANA. 

olic  families  located  in  Auburn,  but  the  energetic  priest  set  reso- 
lutely to  work  at  organizing  his  congregation,  and  by  October  17, 
1874.  succeeded  not  only  in  this  effort,  but  in  completing  a  church- 
building,  which  on  that  day  was  consecrated  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Dwenger.  who  at  the  sam^  time  b  )ught  the  pastoral  residence,  in 
which  Father  Young  at  once  made  his  home,  having,  during  the 
meantime,  boarded  with  one  or  another  of  his  Hock.  November 
II,  1886,  Feather  Young  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  R.  Denk,  who 
remained  about  eight  months,  when  he  was  followed  by  Rev.  F. 
Faust,  who  officiated  until  1896,  in  December  of  which  year  Rev. 
Edward  Boccard,  the  present  worthy  and  respected  pastor, 
assumed  charge.  The  congregation  now  numbers  forty-five  fam- 
ilies, and  beside  the  care  of  these,  Father  Boccard  has  missions  at 
Albion,  Noble  county,  and  Butler,  Dekalb  county,  which  claim  a 
share  of  his  spiritual  ministrations. 

AUKORA,  DEAKHOKX  COUNTY. 

The  Immaculate  Conception  Church  at  Aurora. — This  large 
and  prosperous  congregation,  with  a  membership  of  more  than 
1,000  souls,  with  an  excellent  school,  attended  by  225  children 
and  conducted  by  the  efficient  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  (Oldenburg, 
Ind.),  had  but  an  humble  beginning.  The  first  to  offer  up  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  mass  was  no  less  a  person  than  the  Most  Rev.  Arch- 
bishop of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  J.  B.  Purcell,  D.  D..  and  this  impor- 
tant occurrence  took  place  at  the  house  of  Mr.  O'Brien.  On  the 
same  day  his  Grace  lectured  by  invitation  at  the  old  school-house. 
In  the  spring  of  1849  following,  parishioners  had  their  first  meeting 
at  Kemp's  bakery  and  formed  themselves  into  a  congregation  : 
Henry,  John,  Anthony  and  Frank  Klueber,  Bernard  Schipper. 
John  Miller,  Valentine  Hahn,  Michael  Maloney,  Sr. ,  John  and 
Patrick  Maloney,  Patrick  Garrity  and  Michael  Morin.  They  met 
for  church  purposes  at  Anthony  Klueber's,  the  town  hall,  school 
and  other  places  until  December  25,  1857,  when,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Rev.  Father  Unterdiener,  O.  S.  F.,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
Aurora's  first  Catholic  church  was  erected  on  the  classical  site  of 
Hog- Back.  Father  Unterdiener  was  succeeded  by  Fathers  Sigmond 
and  Ausom  Koch  (brothers),  both  Franciscan  Fathers  and  pastors 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

at  St.  John's  church,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  These  fathers  visited  the 
5'Oung  congregation  at  intervals  onl}'  until  1863,  when  Rev.  F.  Igna- 
tius Klein  was  appointed  the  first  resident  pastor,  and  this  devoted 
clergyman  worked  with  untiring  zeal  for  the  }oung  flock.  October 
12,  1863,  though  his  means  were  scanty  and  the  congregation 
small,  he  purchased  the  present  site  (lots  163,  164,  165,  166),  at 
the  corner  of  Judiciary  and  Fourth  streets,  agreeing  to  pay  $4,  500 
for  the  same.  He  advanced  $1,500  on  the  purchase  and  at  once 
proceeded  to  erect  a  church,  106  x  52  feet  ground  plan  and  thirty- 
two  feet  high,  at  a  cost  of  $24,000.  He  acted  in  the  capacity  of 
architect  and  superintendent  and  completed  the  structure,  except 
the  steeple,  in  1864.  The  steeple  was  finished  in  1876  at  a  cost  of 
$5,000.  Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  the  willingness  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation,  who  would  gather  after  supper  and  place 
the  stone  upon  the  ground  and  scaffolding  for  the  masons  to  work 
upon  the  following  day,  thus  dispensing  with  the  usual  attendants 
and  assisting  their  pastor  with  "  hand  and  means."  The  church 
is  built  of  stone  and  brick  and  has  a  seating  capacity  of  about 
1,200.  Father  Klein  was  also  attentive  to  the  needs  of  childhood, 
hence  the  school  received  his  attention  at  the  first  opportunity.  In 
1866  the  brick  school-house,  70  x  30  feet,  was  built  and  the  Sisters 
of  Providence  were  asked  to  take  charge.  The  parsonage  of  twelve 
rooms  was  completed  in  1873,  after  which  Rt.  Rev.  Maurice  de  St. 
Palais,  appreciating  the  arduous  labors  of  Father  Klein,  promoted 
him  to  St.  Mary's  church.  New  Albany,  Ind. 

The  Rev.  Ferdinand  Hundt,  the  poet  priest  and  scholar,  was 
next  appointed  pastor  at  Aurora.  His  eloquent  sermons  produced 
much  fruit,  and  his  elegant  taste  was  displayed  in  church  decora- 
tions. Beside  improving  the  parsonage  he  purchased  three  fine 
altars  and  a  pulpit — lasting  ornaments  to  the  church  and  evidences 
of  his  zeal.  In  1883  Father  Hundt  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  J. 
J.  Schoentruf),  who  further  improved  the  church  and  re-arranged 
the  pews  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  people.  His  delicate 
health,  which  caused  him  to  apply  for  a  removal,  prevented  him 
from  further  exercising  the  great  ability  for  which  he  was  known. 
In  September,  1890,  Rev.  J.  |.  Macke  assumed  charge,  finding  an 
indebtedness  of  upwards  of  $16,000,  which,  however,  was  greatly 

(222r 


IN    THE    STATK    OI-     INDIANA. 

reduced  during.,'  I'athcr  Macke's  stay,  189010  189b,  and  the  present 
pastor,  Rev.  F.  A.  Roell,  will  prove  a  popular  leader  and  an  able 
Hnancier.  The  schools  now  under  the  direction  of  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Francis,  are  models  of  perfection  and  the  Sisters  give  a  thor- 
ough collegiate  course  and,  in  consequence,  are  very  popular  with 
the  people.  The  congregation  is  both  tinanciall\'  and  spiritually  in 
a  healthy  condition  and  compares  favorably  with  others  in  this  well- 
managed  diocese. 

A\  II.LA,    XOBLK  Cn{\T\. 

Assumption  B.  V.  M.  Church  at  Avilla. — For  some  time  prior 
to  1853  Fathers  Benoit,  Mueller  and  others  had  visited  Avilla  from 
Fort  Wayne  and  had  said  mass  every  six  months  or  so  at  conve- 
nient places.  In  the  year  named,  however.  Father  Faller,  then 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  at  Fort  Wayne,  came  to  Avilla  and  organized 
a  congregation  from  eight  widely  scattered  families — those  of  Frank 
Borck,  John  Geiser,  Thomas  Store}-,  John  Zonkher,  George  Bauer, 
Joseph  Bender,  John  Moorhouse  and  John  Walsh — and  soon  after- 
ward began  the  erection  of  a  church,  25x40  feet,  of  frame,  which 
church  was  dedicated  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  in  1853. 

The  church  of  the  Assumption  was  ministered  to  by  Father 
Faller  and  other  clergymen  from  Fort  Wa}ne  until  1858,  when 
Rev.  Henry  Schaefer  was  appointed  resident  priest.  He  offtciated 
until  March,  1863,  and  after  him  came  Rev.  Father  Deipenbrock, 
who  built  an  addition  to  the  church  and  remained  in  charge  nine 
months.  Rev.  John  Wemhoff  followed  and  in  December,  1865, 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering,  who  remained  until  the 
coming  of  the  present  pastor,  the  Rev.  D.  Duehmig,  in  May,  1867, 
the  congregation  then  consisting  of  about  forty  families. 

In  1876  Father  Duehmig  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  present 
magnificent  church,  on  the  present  site  in  the  village,  and  com- 
pleted it  in  1877,  when.  May  19,  it  was  dedicated  by  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Dwenger.  It  is  built  of  brick,  is  44X  113  feet  in  size,  and 
is  furnished  with  costly  altars  and  pipe  organ.  The  cost  of  the 
building  itself  reached  $9,000.  The  school  and  Sisters'  residence 
(one  building)  was  erected  in  1878  at  a  cost  of  $2,500,  and  the 
priest's  residence  in  1889  at  a  cost  of  $3,600.     The  church  grounds 

~(223j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

comprise  six  and  one-quarter  acres,  which  were  donated  by  Thomas 
Storey,  and  the  cemetery,  at  the  site  of  the  old  church,  one-half 
mile  north  of  the  present  church,  contains  eight  acres.  The  school 
children,  124  in  number,  are  under  three  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  and  the  congregation  has  attained  a  total  member- 
ship of  100  families. 

The  societies  attached  to  the  church  of  the  Assumption  of  the 
B.  V.  M.  hold  membership  as  follows:  St.  Joseph's  School  society, 
eight}-;  Ladies'  Rosary  society,  eighty-six;  Young  Men's  society, 
forty-eight;  Young  Ladies'  society,  thirty-six;  and  Catholic  Ivnights, 
thirt\-iive. 

BAKR    TOWNSHIP,     DAVIESS    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Church  is  located  in  Barr  township,  Daviess  county, 
one-half  mile  west  of  the  Martin  county  line  and  a  mile  and  a  half 
north  of  the  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  The  first  Catholic  services  in  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Mary's  were  held  in  the  house  of  Ignatius  Spaulding. 
in  1828,  by  Father  Lalumiere.  Ignatius  Spaulding  was  born  in 
Maryland  and  died  June  23,  1842,  aged  sixt}*  years.  About  1833 
a  small  log  church  was  erected  and  consecrated  by  Bishop  Brute, 
who  named  it  St.  Mary's.  According  to  Bishop  Brute,  there  were 
about  150  Catholic  families  in  the  neighborhood,  mostly  from  Ken- 
tucky. The  first  resident  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Maurice  de  St. 
Palais,  afterward  bishop,  who  took  charge  of  the  congregation  in 
1836  and  remained  three  years.  During  this  period  a  new  brick 
church  was  constructed. 

Rev.  John  Gueguen  became  the  pastor  in  1839  and  continued 
until  1 84S,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  P.  R.  Murphy. 
Father  Murphy  also  had  a  flock  in  Martin  count\-  at  Mt.  Pleas- 
ant, and  erected  a  church  there.  Rev.  John  Mougin  officiated  at 
St.  Mary's  from  1858  to  i860,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J. 
LeBlanc,  who  attended  until  1873.  Rev.  G.  M.  Ginnsz  came 
next  and  was  the  pastor  until  1875.  He  was  followed  by  Revs. 
John  W.  Doyle,  L.  M.  S.  Burkhardt  and  Timothy  O'Donaghue. 
Father  Doyle  made  preparations  for  a  new  church-building  and  it 
was  completed  by  Father  T.  O'Donaghue  in  1881  at  a  cost  of 
$9,000.     The  church  is  a  handsome  building,  55X  iio  feet  in  size,  is 

(224) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

built  of  brick  and  is  well  furnished.  This  church  owns  twenty-three 
acres  of  land  valued,  exclusive  of  improvements,  at  $1,300.  The 
pastoral  residence  is  qf  brick,  and  the  conj^regation  comprises  a 
membership  of  650.  Rev.  T.  O'Donaghue  was  succeeded,  Feb- 
ruary I,   1S90,  by  the  present  able  pastor,  Rev.  John  McCabe. 

BESANGON,     ALLEN    COUNTY. 

St.  Louis  Church  at  Besancon  (post-office  New  Haven),  Allen 
county,  was  first  a  mission,  established  by  Rev.  Father  Benoit,  and 
was  attended  by  clergymen  from  Fort  Wayne  until  i860,  when 
Rev.  Father  Adams  came,  erected  the  present  church-edifice, 
90x36  feet,  and  remained  until  1875.  He  was  succeeded,  in  turn, 
by  Fathers  Mignault,  Demers,  Maujay,  Veniard  and  the  present 
pastor,  Rev.  Francis  X.  Labonte  (in  1894),  although  for  one 
year  prior  to  this  last-named  date  St.  Louis  had  been  again  a  mis- 
sion of  Fort  Wayne.  The  priest's  house  was  erected  by  Rev.  W. 
J.  Quinlan,  formerly  of  the  cathedral  at  Fort  Wayne,  but  now  pas- 
tor of  St.  Paul's,  at  Marion,  Grant  county.  This  building  is  of 
brick,  is  two  stories  high  and  contains  eight  rooms.  A  hall, 
74h  X  40  feet,  is  on  the  church  property,  to  be  used  as  a  parochial 
school  and  will  be  attended  by  about  100  pupils,  who  will  be 
under  the  instruction  of  three  sisters.  The  congregation  com- 
prises about  120  families  of  mixed  nationalities,  the  French  pre- 
dominating. The  church  property  consists  of  ten  acres,  including 
the  cemetery,  and  is  free  from  debt. 

Rev.  Francis  X.  Labonte  was  born  in  Vermont  January  30, 
1868,  and  was  ordained  at  Fort  ^^'ayne  May  19.  1894,  by  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  Rademacher  and  at  once  placed  in  charge  of  his  pres- 
ent pastorate. 

r.ATESVII.LK,    KIPI^EV    COUNTY. 

St.  Louis'  Church  at  Batesville  had  its  origin  with  German 
Catholics  about  the  year  1867.  Two  non-Catholics,  Messrs. 
Schader  and  Boehringer,  donated  the  ground  on  which  the  church 
was  to  be  erected.  The  church  was  begun  in  the  same  year,  1867, 
in  charge  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers  at  Oldenburg.  In  the  fall  of 
1868  Batesville  was  made  a  station,  to  be  visited  from  Greensburg, 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

where  the  Rev.  John  P.  Gillig  resided.  He  had  services  in  a  pri- 
vate house  at  Batesville  twice  a  month  until  about  August,  1869. 
In  1870  the  Franciscan  Fathers  again  togk  charge.  The  Rev. 
Louis  Haverbeck,  O.  S.  F. ,  finished  the  church  and  it  was  blessed 
in  September,  1870,  St.  Lud wig's  church.  In  the  year  following 
the  same  zealous  pastor  built  a  school-house. 

From  August,  1872,  until  August,  1873,  the  Rev.  Clemens 
Steinkamp,  ().  S.  F.,  attended  the  congregation,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Bernardine  Holthaus,  O.  S.  F.  The  par- 
sonage was  built  in  1876.  In  1875  the  furniture  factories  at  Bates- 
ville were  destroyed  by  fire  and,  in  consequence,  the  congregation 
lost  several  families,  who  left  the  town.  From  September,  1876, 
Rev.  John  B.  Schroeder,  O.  S.  F.,  visited  Bates\ille  until  Janu- 
ary,  1877. 

Rev.  Peter  B.  Fnglert,  O.  S.  F.,  became  the  first  resident 
priest  at  Batesville  in  January,  1877;  Rev.  Nicholas  Holtel,  O.  S. 
F.,  from  August,  1877,  until  August,  1878:  Rev.  iMartin  Bauer, 
O.  S.  F.,  from  August,  1878,  until  August.  1879;  the  Rev.  Leonard 
Nurre,  O.  S.  F.,  took  charge  in  August,  1879.  The  congregation 
numbers  about  100  families,  three  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  teach  180 
children,  and  since  October  18,  1897.  the  congregation  has  been 
under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Bartholomew  Weiss,  O.  F.  M. 

BLOOMIXGTOX,    MONKOK  COINTV. 

St.  Charles  Borromeo  Church. — The  first  priest  in  charge  of 
St.  Charles  Borromeo  church  was  Rev.  Patnck  Murphy,  who  was 
a  trustee  of  the  State  university  at  Bloomington,  the  only  priest 
who  ever  held  that  office.  He  was  succeeded  b}-  Father  John  B. 
Unverzagt,  who  was  succeeded  b\-  Father  Thomas  X.  Logan,  who 
in  time  was  succeeded  by  Father  Bogemann,  the  present  pastor. 
Under  the  latter's  administration  the  church  building  and  parsonage 
have  been  remodeled  and  modernized  in  their  present  pleasing  form, 
and  the  street  fronting  the  same  (330  feet)  properly  graded  and 
improved.  A  fitting  compliment  to  Father  Bogemann's  energy  is 
the  fact  that  the  parish  is  out  of  debt  and  usually  has  money  draw- 
ing interest. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


!'.KAi)i(iKi>,    ii.\i\'KiS()N   (■()l■^■'^^■. 


St.  Michael's  Church. — A  log  church  was  built  four  miles 
southwest  of  Bradford  as  early  as  1835  by  a  few  Catholic  families 
who  lived  in  those  parts  of  Harrison  county,  and  this  church  was 
called  St.  Michael's.  The  hrst  priest  who  visited  this  church  was 
the  Rev.  Jos.  I'^rneding;  later  on  came  the  Rev.  Ignatius  Rey- 
nolds, of  Kentucky,  and  Rev.  S.  Neyron,  of  New  Albany.  When 
Rev.  |.  P.  Dion  permanent)}-  located  at  Zanesville  he  visited  this 
little  church  regularly  until  1854,  when  the  Catholic  families  had 
increased  to  such  an  extent  that  those  living  north  of  Bradford 
made  an  effort  to  build  a  little  log  church  three  miles  northeast  of 
Bradford.  This  little  church  was  begun,  but  never  completed, 
because  all  united  their  efforts  and  built  a  nice  frame  church  in  the 
town  of  Bradford,  and  from  this  time  on  the  log  church,  four  miles 
southwest  of  Bradford,  St.  Michael's,  was  more  or  less  abandoned. 

Fred.  Ems  donated  one  acre  of  land  adjoining  Bradford,  upon 
which  the  new  church  was  built.  It  was  completed  and  dedicated 
on  the  29th  day  of  September,  1855,  by  Rev.  Jos.  Wentz,  of  New 
Albany,  and  called  St.  Michael's  church.  Rev.  E.  M.  Faller,  of 
New  Albany,  and  Rev.  Dionysius,  O.  S.  P.,  of  Louisville,  Ky. , 
attended  to  St.  Michael's  church  of  Bradford  until  1862,  when  the 
Rev.  J.  M.  Gabriel,  of  St.  John's,  Clark  county,  took  charge  and 
attended  regularly  once  a  month  until  1869,  when  Rev.  B.  H. 
Kintrup  became  the  first  resident  priest  of  Bradford.  From  1871 
till  1872  Rev.  J.  M.  Gabriel  attended  again  from  St.  John's;  Rev. 
G.  M.  Ginnsz,  of  Floyd  Knobs,  till  1873;  Rev.  A.  Lechner,  of  St. 
John's,  till  1875;  Re'^'-  ^-  Brueggemann  till  1877  and  Rev.  J.  P. 
Gillig  till  1879. 

Rev.  F.  Seegmiller,  the  second  resident  priest,  took  charge  in 
1879  and  remained  till  1886.  In  1882  he  built  the  new  frame 
church,  40  -x  75  feet,  and  labored  zealously  for  the  welfare  of  the 
congregation,  but,  meeting  many  difficulties,  he  left  in  1886,  the 
church  being  in  debt  to  the  amount  of  $1,000.  Rev.  Martin 
Andres,  of  Frenchtown.  attended  the  congregation  until  1888, 
when  he  was  succeeded  at  Frenchtown  by  Rev.  G.  H.  Moss,  who 
also  attended  one  year  at  Bradford.      Rev.   Martin  Andres  took  up 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

a  subscription  in  1887  to  reduce  the  indebtedness  of  the  church  and 
brought  it  down  to  $372  at  the  time  when  Rev.  G.  H.  Moss  was 
succeeded  by  the  resident  priest  at  Bradford. 

Rev.  Andrew  Schaaf,  the  third  resident  priest,  took  charge  of 
Bradford  July  19,  1889.  B3'  a  subscription  he  paid  the  remaining 
debt  of  $372  in  the  fall  of  1889,  and  in  the  spring  of  1890  had  the 
church  painted  outside  and  necessary  repairs  made  to  the  amount 
of  $165,  which  was  raised  by  collection.  In  fall  of  1890  he  built 
St.  Michael's  school  at  cost  of  $384.50.  This  amount  was  raised 
by  the  pastor  outside  of  the  congregation,  Rev.  Joseph  Dickmann, 
of  St.  Joseph's  Hill,  generously  contributing  $100.  The  same 
amount  was  contributed  by  the  pastor,  who  also  furnished  the 
school.  St.  Michael's  school  was  opened  Easter  Monday,  1891, 
by  Miss  Josie  Henriott,  of  Frenchtown,  and  in  September  of  the 
same  year  the  Sisters  of  St.  Benedict,  at  Ferdinand,  took  charge 
and  conduct  the  school  to  the  present  day.  In  the  fall  of  1891 
the  church  was  frescoed  by  Charles  Krueger,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
at  a  cost  of  $752.45,  which  amount  the  pastor  collected  from  the 
people  of  the  congregation.  In  the  spring  of  1892  the  church 
steeple  was  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  $175,  the  cemetery  was  laid  out 
in  family  lots,  a  large  iron  cross  and  crucifix  placed  in  it  and  it  was 
otherwise  much  improved,  and  in  September  of  the  same  year  St- 
Michael's  parsonage  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $999.85  ;  this  is  a 
modern  frame  with  eight  rooms,  handsomely  furnished  by  the  ladies 
of  the  congregation.  The  whole  amount  for  the  parsonage  was 
collected  b}'  the  pastor.  In  1893  new  pews  were  placed  in  the 
church  and  were  partly  paid  for  by  the  ladies  of  St.  Ann's  society  ; 
the  stations,  matting  and  large  bell  were  paid  for  by  the  pastor. 

In  addition  to  the  church  property  thirteen  lots  were  pur- 
chased around  the  church,  school  and  parsonage,  and  three  acres 
of  ground  opposite  the  church;  thereby  the  church  holds  two  blocks 
where  the  church,  school,  parsonage  and  Sister-house  are  located, 
and  these  lots  have  a  frontage  of  618  feet  and  the  same  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street,  constituting  in  all  seven  acres  of  land 
and  twenty  lots. 

August  3,  1895,  Rev.  Jos.  Sennefeld  took  charge  of  St. 
Michael's  church  as  the   fourth  resident  priest  at  Bradford.  Father 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Schaaf,  after  six  years  of  incessant  labor,  having  been  transferred 
to  Poseyville,  Posey  county,  with  headquarters  at  St.  Mary's 
church,  Evansville.  Rev.  Jos.  Sennefeld  collected  for  the  pipe 
organ  placed  in  the  church  $150,  and  zealously  watched  over  the 
flock  entrusted  to  his  care  till  the  spring  of  1898,  when  he  was 
transferred  to  a  new  field  of  labor,  St.  Thomas,  Knox  county,  and 
the  Rev.  Chas.  Cluever  took  charge  of  Bradford,  and  with  great 
zeal  took  up  the  work  entrusted  to  him.  He  is  the  present  pastor, 
the  fifth  resident  priest  of  Bradford,  and  stands  high  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  members  of  St.  Michael's  church.  The  congregation 
numbers  eighty  families  and  the  attendance  at  the  school  is  eighty. 
The  indebtedness  of  the  church  is  now  quite  small. 

BRAZIL,     CLAY    COUNTY. 

The  Church  of  the  Annunciation  at  Brazil  was  founded  about 
the  year  1866,  when  mass  was  occasionally  read  to  a  small  assem- 
blage of  devotees  in  private  houses  in  the  rural  districts  and  in 
Brazil  itself  by  visiting  priests  from  Terre  Haute  and  elsewhere, 
the  parish  being  then  in  its  incipiency.  Rev.  Fathers  O'Connor 
and  Fenton  are  remembered  by  the  earlier  members  of  the  embry- 
onic congregation  as  being  among  the  pioneer  spiritual  laborers. 
The  priest  who  was  most  prominently  instrumental  in  promoting 
the  establishment  of  the  first  church  in  Brazil  was  Rev.  Meinrad 
McCarty,  who  came  from  St.  Mary's  of  the  Wood,  Vigo  county. 
Religious  services  continued  to  be  held  in  private  houses,  and  for 
a  time  at  Dr.  Ivnight's  hall,  until  the  spring  of  1869,  when  the 
Presbyterian  church-building,  at  the  corner  of  Jackson  and  \\'alnut 
streets,  was  purchased  and  removed  to  lots  Nos.  22  and  23.  Shat- 
tuck's  second  addition  to  Brazil.  The  building  was  enlarged  and 
improved  and  used  for  church  purposes  until  the  present  com- 
modious brick  structure,  on  lots  adjoining,  was  occupied  in  1881. 
In  the  interval,  however.  Father  Meinrad  McCarty  was  succeeded 
by  his  assistant.  Father  Benedict,  and  he  by  Father  Mousette,  who 
officiated  from  1877  until  1880. 

When  Father  H.  Pierrard,  the  present  pastor,  took  charge  in 
1880,  what  is  now  the  school-building  was  utilized  for  church  pur- 
poses.     The  foundation  of  the  present  church-edifice  had  been  laid 

"(229) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

and  was  so  far  advanced  as  to  be  utilized  in  1881,  but  the  church 
was  not  fully  completed  until  September,  1883,  Father  Pierrard 
strenuously  laboring  to^vard  the  attainment  of  this  object.  Sep- 
tember 3.,  the  house  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God  by  Bishop 
Chatard. 

In  this  parish,  which  includes  the  whole  of  Clay  county,  were 
also  established  two  missions  by  Father  Meinrad  McCarty — one  at 
Knightsville  and  one  at  Carbon,  but  the  former  was  vacated  for 
some  years,  although  it  is  now  attended  by  Rev.  A.  Bohn,  while 
the  latter  is  administered  to  by  Father  Pierrard,  whose  biography 
will  be  found  in  Vol.  II  of  this  work.  The  parochial  school,  in 
the  old  church-building,  has  been  in  charge  of  Sisters  from  Olden- 
burg, Ind.,  since  1882,  and  the  growth  of  the  school,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  church,  has  kept  abreast  with  the  growth  of  the  popu- 
lation. The  Catholic  orders  in  the  parish  include  the  Ancient  Order 
of  Hibernians  with  its  ladies"  auxiliary  society,  the  Altar  society, 
the  Young  Ladies'  sodality,  the  Society  of  the  Children  of  Mary, 
and  the  Guardian  Angel  society. 

BREMEN,     MARSHALL    COLXT^'. 

St.  Dominic's  Church,  at  Bremen,  was  built  in  1880  by  Rev. 
Father  Duehmig,  is  a  frame  structure,  28  x  56  feet,  and  cost 
$2,200.  In  course  of  building  the  church  was  struck  by  lightning 
and  great  damage  done.  Shortly  after  completion  lightning  struck 
it  a  second  time,  and  it  cost  about  $700  to  repair  it.  The  congre- 
gation then  numbered  ten  families,  of  four  different  nationalities, 
and  the  number  is  about  the  same  at  the  present  time.  Father 
Duehmig  attended  this  church  with  fostering  care  until  1894,  when 
it  passed  to  the  charge  of  St.  Hedwig's  church  at   South  Bend. 

BRIGHTWOOl),     MARION    COUNTY. 

St.  Francis  de  Sales'  Church,  at  Brightwood,  a  suburb  of 
Indianapolis,  was  established  by  Bishop  Chatard  in  April,  1881, 
the  congregation  being  composed  of  members  of  St.  Joseph's 
church,  in  the  Capital  city,  four  or  more  miles  distant.  The  pas- 
tor of  St.  Joseph's  continued  in  charge  of  the  new  congregation 
until  July,   1881,  when  Rev.  Charles  Curran  was  appointed  pastor. 

(280r 


IX  Tin:  sTAi  1-:  oi-    Indiana. 


This  reverend  j^eiitlenian  was  born  at  Seneca  Falls,  X.  \'. ,  (Octo- 
ber 22,  1858,  was  ordained  priest  at  St.  Meinrad,  fune  11,  1881, 
by  Bishop  Chatard,  and  was  ,i,Mven  his  appointment  at  Bright  wood 
immediately  afterward.  The  Hrightwood  congregation  at  once 
petitioned  the  bishop  for  leave  to  erect  a  church-building,  which 
permission  was  readil\-  granted  and  a  considerable  sum  was  sub- 
scribed for  that  purpose,  but  it  was  deemed  more  wisely  not  to 
build,  but  to  purchase  an  edifice  which  had  been  vacated  by  a 
Protestant  denomination  and  was  offered  for  sale  at  a  reasonable 
price.  The  purchase  was  made,  and  the  church  was  consecrated 
to  the  Catholic  faith  by  Bishop  Chatard  July  3,  1881,  and  placed 
under  the  patronage  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  with  Father  Curran 
as  pastor,  as  noted  above.  The  property  cost  about  $3,300,  of 
which  amount  the  zealous  pastor,  seeking  assistance  wherever  he 
could  find  it,  succeeded  in  paying  $1,700. 

Father  Curran  held  the  pastorate  until  1883,  when  Rev. 
Rudolph  Horstmann,  O.  F.  M. ,  was  appointed.  Father  Rudolph 
stayed  only  for  a  few  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Father 
Alexius  Bernard,  Father  Ouirinus  Stuecker  and  Father  Fulgentius 
Eich.  In  1892  Rev.  Roger  Middendorf  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
parish. 

Rev.  Roger  Middendorf  was  born  in  Ouincy,  111,,  and  was 
educated  in  St.  Francis  Solanus  college,  of  that  city.  In  1884  he 
entered  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  and  after  the  completion  of  his 
studies  was  placed  in  charge  of  St.  Francis  church  at  Brightwood, 
and  during  the  four  years  of  his  pastorate  labored  zealously  to 
improve  the  condition  of  the  parish  in  every  way  possible.  He 
established  the  Young  Ladies"  sodality,  which  at  present  has 
twenty-one  members;  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  numbering  twenty- 
five,  and  the  St.  Ann's  Altar  society,  which  has  a  membership  of 
twenty-nine.  During  the  first  two  years  of  his  incumbency  he 
saved  $700,  and  from  this  sum  built  an  addition  to  the  priest's 
room  at  a  cost  of  $600.  At  the  close  of  four  years  he  was  returned 
to  Ouincy,  111.,  as  a  teacher  in  his  alma  mater,  and  was  succeeded 
at  Brightwood  by  Rev.  Simon  Schwartz,  who  officiated  one  year, 
when  he  was  transferred  to  Keshina,  Wis.,  and  St.  Francis'  con- 
gregation placed  in  charge  of  Rev.  P.  Matthew  Schmitz,  O.  F.  M., 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

August  29,  1897.  The  congregation  now  numbers  eighty  famihes, 
whose  spiritual  and  worldly  affairs  are  the  constant  care  of  the 
pious  and  capable  pastor. 

BROOKVILLE,  FRANKLIN  COUNTY. 

St.  Michael's  Church,  at  Brookville,  had  its  incipiency,  prob- 
ably, as  far  back  as  1838,  when  missionaries  occasionally  visited 
Catholics  who  were  then  laboring  in  the  construction  of  the  canal, 
and  also  others,  scattered  along  the  banks  of  the  Whitewater 
river,  Rev.  Joseph  Ferneding  being  the  chief  visitor.  About  1849, 
Rev.  William  Engeln  began  visiting  the  Catholic  families  regularly 
each  month,  and  divine  services  were  held  in  private  houses,  that 
of  Michael  Schrank,  in  the  bottom  to  the  south  of  Broolcville, 
serving  frequently  for  this  purpose.  In  1854,  Father  Engeln  was 
succeeded  in  his  pastoral  charge  by  Rev.  H.  Koering,  who  found 
but  fifteen  families  at  Brookville.  He  raised  small  contributions 
of  money  from  all  quarters — ^Catholic  and  non-Catholic — ^with 
which  he  purchased  a  lot  with  a  small  brick  building  thereon,  and 
this  he  fitted  up  as  the  first  church,  at  a  total  cost  of  $600. 

In  the  spring  of  1857,  Rev.  Januarius  Weissenberger  took 
charge  of  St.  Michael's,  and  also  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Rocks. 
Fired  with  an  indomitable  zeal  for  religion,  he  undertook  to  build 
two  large  brick  churches  at  the  same  time — one  at  Brookville  and 
the  other  at  St.  Mary's,  on  Pipe  creek.  At  this  time,  Brookville 
numbered  about  forty  Catholic  families,  in  very  moderate  circum- 
stances, and  to  build  a  church  at  a  cost  of  $10,000  was  no  small 
undertaking,  but,  as  the  congregation  continued  to  increase,  he 
eventually  met  with  success,  aided  largely  by  Melchior  Witt,  who 
settled  in  Brookville  in  1840  and  there  died  in  1867. 

From  1859  until  1863  St.  Michael's  was  attended  by  Rev.  Leo 
Osredkar,  and  in  the  latter  year  Rev.  G.  H.  Ostlangenberg  became 
the  first  resident  pastor.  In  1868  Rev.  M.  Fleischmann  took 
charge,  and  in  1869  purchased  three  acres  of  ground  in  the  north 
end  of  the  town  for  use  as  a  cemeter}-.  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  were  purchased  two  lots  near  the  church,  on  which,  in  1873, 
an  imposing  school  house  was  erected.  The  Sisters  of  the  Third 
Order  of   St.    Francis    bought  a  lot   and   residence   near   by    and 

(232r 


IN    TFlli    STATK    OI'    INDIANA. 

assumed  charge  of  the  parochial  school,  which  is  attended  by  200 
pupils.  The  parsonage  cost  over  $4,000,  and  September  10,  1897, 
Kev.  A.  A.  Schenk  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  parish. 

i;ko\\  NsiU'KC,    iihiNDRiCKS  (:()i'X'r\-. 

St.  Malachy's  Church. — The  records  of  this  parish  really  date 
back  to  only  1867,  but  mass  was  said  earlier  than  this  date  in  some 
of  the  homes  of  the  parishioners.  Possibly 'Thomas  Malloney's 
home  was  the  one  where  mass  was  said  more  than  j^ny  other. 

Father  McMullen  was  the  first  priest  who  gave  any  baptismal 
record.  He  was  followed  in  1868  and  1869  by  Father  Brassast. 
The  first  part  of  the  church  was  erected   by    Father   Brassast   in 

1869.  He  remained  in  charge  of  the  congregation  until  1870  and 
was    followed   by  Father   O'Donovan,    who  remained   from  May, 

1870,  to  1874.  and  he  was  followed  by  Father  Logan,  who  built 
an  addition  to  the  church  and  who  remained  until  (877.  Father 
O'Donovan  returned  in  1878  and  remained  up  to  1881.  Next  was 
Father  E.  J.  Spelman,  who  administered  to  the  parish  from  1881 
to  July,  1885,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  present  and  ef^cient 
pastor.  Father  M.  J.  Power,  who  has  been  the  shepherd  of  the 
parish  for  almost  fourteen  years.  When  he  came  to  the  parish 
there  were,  good,  bad  and  indifferent,  about  seventy-two  families, 
or  about  450  souls.  At  present  there  are  sixty  good  families  in 
the  parish,  and  a  fair  cash  value  of  the  Catholic  property  of  St. 
Malachy's  parish  is  placed  at  $3,500. 

CAMBRIDGE  CITY,    WAYNE  COUNTY. 

St.  Elizabeth's  Church  at  Cambridge  City  was  founded  about 
1842  by  Rev.  Vincent  Bacquelin,  who  visited  the  locality  occasion- 
ally for  two  years,  and  his  visits  were  followed  by  those  of  Rev. 
Michael  O'Rourke.  Rev.  John  Ryan  succeeded  and  he  was  followed 
byRev.  William  Doyle,  who  visited  until  1853,  and  after  him  came 
Rev.  Henry  Peters.  This  priest  built  an  addition  to  the  small 
frame  church  already  on  the  ground,  and  bought  an  adjoining  lot 
with  a  small  house  thereon,  which  served  for  many  vears  as  the 
priest's  house.  Father  Peters  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  M.  \illars, 
who  remained  until  about  1863. 

^^  1233) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  first  resident  priest  at  Cambridge  City  was  Rev.  Joseph 
O'Reilly,  who,  in  May,  1864,  built  the  second  church  on  the  founda- 
tion which  had  been  laid  by  Father  Villars,  and  remained  until 
1869,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Re\.  Vincent  de  Vilas,  the  second 
resident  pastor,  who  remained  until  April,  1871.  From  October 
22,  1 87 1,  Rev.  D.  J.  McMullen,  of  Rushville,  attended  until  August, 
1874,  when  the  Rev.  H.  Alerding  was  appointed  and  found  a 
demoralized  congregation,  deep  in  debt.  The  debt  was  canceled, 
but  on  his  departure,  in  the  fall  of  1874,  a  debt  of  $1,000  still 
existed,  incurred  by  the  purchase  of  ground  in  a  more  desirable 
location  for  a  new  church.  Father  John  B.  Kelly  succeeded  Rev. 
H.  Alerding,  and  under  his  pastorate  the  congregation  prospered 
financially  and  spiritually.  A  neat  church  and  parsonage  were 
erected,  and  at  his  departure,  in  October,  1881,  the  indebtedness 
was  only  $3,000  on-the  new  and  improved  property.  Rev.  Andrew 
Oster  took  charge  in  October,  1881,  and  July  2,  1885,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  present  pastor.  Rev.  Edward  J.  Spelman,  who  was 
born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  September  28,  1850,  a  son  of  John  and 
Anne  (Smyth)  Spelman,  natives  of  Ireland.  I^ev.  E.  J.  Spelman 
has  filled  his  position  with  zeal  and  industry  and  good  work,  and 
has  officiated  at  St.  Elizabeth's  longer  than  any  of  his  predecessors 
and  is  greatly  beloved  by  his  congregation  for  his  piety  and  faith- 
ful labors  in  its  behalf. 

The  first  church,  a  frame  structure,  was  removed  from  its 
original  site  and  is  now  occupied  as  a  dwelling  by  Patrick  Shirkey; 
the  second  church  is  now  the  passenger  and  freight  depot  of  the 
Big  Four  railroad.  To  the  erection  of  the  present  church  Rev. 
[ohn  B.  Kelly  contributed  $600  of  his  own  mone}',  and  he  is  still 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  congregation  of  St.  Elizabeth.  The  cost 
of  the  present  church  was  about  $8,000,  the  cost  of  the  residence 
was  $1,800  and  the  congregation  numbers  about  forty-two  families. 

CANNKl.  TON,     I'i:i<l<\'    (OINIW 

St.  Michael's  Church,  at  Cannelton,  originated  with  St.  Pat- 
rick's congregation,  the  church  for  which  was  built  about  1852  by 
Rev.  Aug.  Bessonies,  who  then  had  his  residence  at  Leopold,  in 
the  same  county.      The   Rev.    I^ede  O'Connor,  O.  S.  B.,  was  pas- 

{284r 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol'    INDIANA. 

tor  of  St.  Patrick's  from  January,  i<S54.  until  April,  1S55,  and  on 
Low  Sunday  of  the  latter  year  Rev.  Michael  Marendt  took  charge, 
visiting,',  also,  the  followinj^-named  missions :  Tell  City,  Troy. 
Rockport,  St.  Mark's  and  St.  Peter's.  Father  Marendt.  in  addi- 
tion to  much  other  good  work,  built  a  parsonage  at  Cannelton,  but 
this  is  not  now  used  by  the  rector.  The  following  ^ntry  is  pre- 
served in  the  church  records  : 

Al  ;»  iiR-eling  of  the  Catliolics  of  Cannelton,  held  on  Sunday  evening,  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1858,  in  the  school-room,  and  presided  over  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  of 
\'incennes,  it  was  agreed  :  First,  That  the  English-speaking  portion  of  the  con- 
gregati<»n  should  keep  for  their  own  use  and  benefit  the  church  of  St.  Patrick  and 
the  lot  on  which  it  was  liuilt.  Second,  That  the  Germans  with  ttieir  own  means 
and  voluntary  donations  of  St.  Patrick's  congregation  should  erect,  a  new  church 
for  their  exclusive  use  and  benefit.  Third,  That  the  actual  parish  constructions  to 
be  paid  for  by  both  portions  of  the  present  congregation  should  always  remain 
common  pro] lerty,  either  as  a  residence  for  the  clergymen  having  charge  of  the 
congregations  or  as  a  school-house  for  both  Englisfi  and  German  cfiildren.  'l"he 
foregoing  agreement  was  approved,  and  it  is  to  be  kept  in  the  records  of  the 
church.  Maurice,  Bishop  of  N'incennes.. 

C.ANNEi.Tox,  Ixi).,  March  2.  I80K. 

The  above  agreement  was  recorded  according  to  the  order  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Bislioi),  l)y  M.  Makkxdt,  Pastor  of  Cannelton. 

In  accordance  with  the  above,  St.  Michael's  church  was 
erected  on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Richardson  streets,  the 
congregation  numbering  seventy-four  German  and  four  French 
families,  or  about  315  souls.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  June  13. 
1858,  by  Rev.  Chrysostome  Foffa,  O.  S.  B.,  assisted  by  the  Revs. 
William  Doyle  and  M..  Marendt,  and  June  19,  1859  (Trinitv  Sun- 
day), the  fine  Gothic  structure  was  blessed  by  I^ev.  Bede  O'Con- 
nor. The  first  bell,  weighing  1,060  pounds,  was  blessed  January 
29,  i860,  by  Father  Chrysostome,  who  also,  on  September  20, 
blessed  the  cross,  which  the  same  day  was  planted  on  the  pinnacle 
of  the  tower,  156  feet  high,  The  trustees  of  the  church,  up  to 
October,  i860,  were  J.  H.  Spicker,  Nicholas  Kasper,  P.  Clemens 
and  Jacob  Weis. 

March  13,  1861,  Father  Marendt,  being  financially  embar- 
rassed, departed  on  a  collecting  tour  to  South  America,  remained 
in  Chili  and  Peru  until  .\pril  4,  1866.  when  he  set  sail  on  his 
return  to   his  beloved    parish,   and   arrived,  via    New    York  city,  in 

l285i 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Cannelton,  May  17.  having  met  with  abundant  success.  During 
the  absence  of  this  zealous  priest,  the  parish  was  ministered  to  by 
the  Benedictine  Fathers  of  St.  Meinrad's  and  by  Revs.  Johi  Dion, 
Paul  Wagner,  and  others,  as  resident  priests. 

In  I  S69  the  church  was  plastered  and  frescoed,  and  the  base- 
ment divided  into  school-rooms,  and  the  pupils  were  placed  in 
charge  of  three  Franciscan  Sisters,  who  also  used  this  part  of  the 
church-building  as  a  residence.  The  larger  boys,  however,  were 
taught  by  Xavier  Marendt.  a  brother  of  the  reverend  pastor. 
March  13,  1870,  three  bells  were  added  to  the  one  already  men- 
tioned, and  were  blessed  by  Father  Marendt  himself.  The  minis- 
terial career  of  this  venerated  clergyman  began  with  the  day  of  his 
ordination  to  the  priesthood,  March  24,  1855,  and  closed  only 
with  his  lamented  death,  January  13.   1871. 

Rev.  Edward  M.  Faller  came  to  Cannelton  in  March,  1871, 
and  officiated  as  pastor  of  both  congregations  until  1878.  He 
erected  a  very  handsome  parsonage  and  made  other  valuable 
improvements  about  the  church,  and  largely  at  the  sacrifice  of  his 
own  means.  He  was  succeeded,  in  October,  1878,  by  Rev. 
Michael  L.  Guthneck,  who  was  appointed  pastor  of  both  St.  Pat- 
rick's and  St.  Michael's  churches.  In  November,  1881,  a  lot  was 
purchased,  and  August  13,  1882,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  St. 
Patrick's  church  was  laid  by  Father  Faller,  assisted  by  Rev.  Chry- 
sostome  Foffa,  O.  S.  B.,  and  Conrad  Ackermann,  and  the  building 
completed  in  1883.  The  congregation  of  St.  Patrick's  is  now 
ministered  to  by  the  clergy  of  St.  Michaels.  Following  Father 
Guthneck  came  Rev.  F.  B.  Luebbermann,  who  remained  a  short 
time  only,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  F.  W.  Pepersack,  and 
he  by  Rev.  Aloysius  Dannenhoffer,  and  he,  in  turn,  by  the  present 
able  pastor,  Rev.  John  W.  Book,  who  has  just  completed  the 
twelfth  year  of  his  pastorate,  and  of  whom  further  mention  is 
made  in  a  biographical  notice  on  another  page.  [Note. — Rev. 
John  W.  15ook  passed  to  his  reward  in  the  fall  of   1898. 

CEDAR  OKOVE,  FRANKLIN  CorNlY. 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Guardian  Angel,  at  Cedar  Grove,  was 
organized  in  1872.      Up  to  that  date  the  twenty  Catholic  families 

(286r 


IX    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

liviiij,^  in  or  near  Cedar  Cirove  attended  at  St.  Joseph's,  St.  Peter's 
and  Brookxille.  The  people  were  anxious  to  form  a  conf^regation 
and  petitioned  Hishop  de  St.  Palais  to  that  effect.  The  good 
bishop  readily  consented  and  charged  Rev.  M.  Fleischniann.  of 
Brookville.  with  the  task  of  gathering  the  scattering  families  into 
one  flock  and  erecting  a  snitable  church.  Mass  was  said  for  the 
first  time  in  the  house  of  Philip  h2schenbach,  in  November,  1872, 
after  which  a  meeting  was  held  and  a  building  committee  appointed. 
Despite  opposition,  three  acres  of  land  were  bought  and  a  brick 
church,  30x60  feet,  was  built.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  by 
Rev.  Scheideler,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  H.  Siebertz  and  the  pastor, 
on  Sunday,  September  28.  1873.  On  the  3d  of  January.  1874, 
divine  services  were  held  in  the  new  church  for  the  first  time.  The 
number  of  families  at  that  time  was  thirty. 

The  roster  of  priests  who  have  had  charge  of  the  parish  is  as 
follows:      Rev.  Joseph  Fleischmann,  who  was  in  charge  of   Brook- 
ville, took  charge  of  Cedar  Grove  in   1874;  he  remained   nine  vears 
and  under  his  prudent  administration  the  parish  was  able  to  build 
a  school  in  1877.      He  was  succeeded   by   Rev.    Herman  Tegeder, 
June  24,    1883,  but  who  died  at  Cedar  Grove,  November  24.  1886, 
and  his  successors  were   I'ievs.  Joseph  and   Stenger,  both  O.  S.   B. 
Rev.   Fr.  Koesters  was  pastor  a  short   time   in  1887,  and    the   next 
priest  was  Rev.  Geo.  Loesch,  who  was  the  rector  until  the  appoint- 
ment of  Rev.  T.  S.  Mesker,  the  present   live  and   energetic  priest, 
who  was  appointed  August  15.    1888,  and    he    has   labored   assidu- 
ously with  his  congregation  until  the  present. 

CELESTIXl-:,    DTBOIS  C()rxr\-. 

St.  Peter's  Ccelestin  Church,  at  Celestine,  Ind.,  dates  its  history 
back  to  1844,  when  a  rude  log  structure  was  erected,  30x55  feet, 
and  was  dedicated  October  6,  the  congregation  then  numbering 
about  forty  families,  and  Rev.  F'ather  Kundeck,  of  jasper,  being 
the  founder.  This  good  priest  continued  his  visits  until  1849.  when 
Rev.  Matthias  Leutner  became  the  first  resident  pastor  and  remained 
from  F^ebruary  25.  of  that  year,  until  1850.  leather  Kundeck  again 
oflficiated  until  April,  1S51,  v^-hen  he  made  a  trip  to  Europe  and  a 
substitute    was    furnished    in    the    person   of   Rev.  John    Merl.  who 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

remained   until   July    lO.    1830.    when    Father    Kundeck    returned, 
relieved  his  substitute   and   remained    until    September   15.      From 
October  2,   1853,  Rev.  Joseph  Neuber  administered  to  the  needs  of 
the  congregation  until   May  28,   1854;  then  Father  Kundeck  again 
officiated  until  June,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Father  Wirz,  who 
remained  until  October  7,  1855,  when  he  was  substituted  by  Father 
Chrysostome;  Father  Kundeck  next  returned  and  filled  out  a  short 
term  until  February,   1857;   then  came  a  substitute.  Father  Isidor. 
from  St.  Meinrad's,  who  remained   from   May  10  until  September 
27,  1837;  then  Father  Ulrich,  who  visited  several  times;  next  Fathers 
Chrysostome  and  Isidor;  then  Father   O'Conner   had   charge  from 
February  4.   1838,  until  August  4,  1839;  then  Father  Meister,  from 
August  31,   1859,  until  October  24,  1864,  and  during  this  pastorate 
the  second  church   was  built.      Father  Wolfgang  officiated   from 
March  16  to  May  19,  1865,  when    Father  Bruning  (whose  remains 
now  lie  interred  in  the  cemetery  at  Celestine)  had  charge  from  June 
23.   1865,  until  November  9,   1877.      Father  Koesters  was  the  resi- 
dent priest  from  January  18,   1878,  until  June  6,   1883,  and  he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  Fleischmann,  who  served  from  June  10, 
1883,  until  February  4,   1891,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  pres- 
ent able  pastor.  Rev.  Charles   F.  Bilger,  whose  labors  in  this  par- 
ish are  fully  treated  of  in  his  life-sketch  in  \'ol.  II. 

In  June,  1895,  the  manufacture  of  brick  for  a  new  edifice  was 
begun;  August  18,  1896,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  the  Very 
Rev.  John  W.  Book,  of  Cannelton,  and  October  17,  1897,  the 
building  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Chatard.  This  edifice  stands  on 
an  eminence  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  village,  is  of  modern 
architecture  and  of  magnificent  proportions  and  appearance.  The 
auditorium  is  88x42  feet,  the  transept  7  i  x  42  feet,  the  vestibule 
19X  19  feet,  and  the  spire,  which  is  surmounted  by  a  gilded  cross, 
rises  to  a  height  of  126  feet  from  its  base,  and  is  furnished  with 
three  bells.  The  roof  is  of  slate  and  the  interior  handsomely  dec- 
orated, the  cost  of  all  reaching  $20,000. 

The  parochial  school-building  measures  60  x  32  feet,  contains 
two  stories  and  an  attic  and  stands  just  east  of  the  church  edifice. 
The  school  has  an  enrolment  of  about  147  pupils,  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  three  Benedictine  Sisters  and  a   lay  teacher.     The  Sisters 


IX    Till-:    STATI-:    ol-     INDIANA. 

occupy  tive  rooms  in  tlie  school-building.  The  lay  teacher  lives  in 
a  cozy  residence.  That  Father  Bilger  is  one  of  the  most  energetic 
and  zealous  of  the  Catholic  clergy  of  the  southern  diocese  of  Indi- 
ana is  shown  by  the  tact  that,  within  the  few  years  he  has  had 
charge  of  St.  Peter's  C(elestin's.  he  has  not  only  released  it  from 
debt,  but  has  placed  it  in  a  most  flourishing  condition,  the  value 
of  its  property,  including  twenty  acres  of  land,  being  not  less  than 
$30,000. 

COLIMIUIS,    BARTHOLOMEW    COUNTY. 

St.  Bartholomew's  Catholic  Church. — The  first  Catholic  serv- 
ice at  Columbus,  Ind.,  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  was  held 
about  the  year  1822,  before  a  congregation  composed  of  probably 
one-half  dozen  persons.  Later  Father  Lalumiere,  an  itinerant 
priest,  visited  Columbus  occasionally  and  said  mass  at  the  houses 
of  the  Catholic  families  alternately. 

For  many  years  the  congregation  was  without  a  church-build- 
ing and  services  were  held  by  the  visiting  priests  at  some  member's 
house.  Finally,  in  the  late  'thirties,  the  first  Catholic  church  in 
central  Indiana  was  built  in  Columbus  on  the  ground  now  occupied 
by  the  Rebennack  building.  The  church  was  dedicated  to  the 
services  of  God,  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Bartholomew,  one  of 
the  apostles  of  pur  Lord.  Father  Vincent  Bacciuelin  became  re  - 
ident  priest. 

From  this  time  the  congregation  increased  in  nutpbers,  and  in 
1855  the  Sisters  of  Providence  established  the  St.  Bartholomew 
school,  which  prospered  for  several  years,  being  discontinued  at 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war. 

The  congregation  in  1861  numbered  fifty  families  and  was  in 
a  fairly  prosperous  condition.  The  war  seriously  crippled  the  con- 
gregation, as  most  of  its  men  responded  to  their  country's  call  and 
enlisted  in  the  Union  army.  Out  of  the  fifty  families  composing 
the  congregation,  sixty-five  men,  more  than  one  for  each  family, 
volunteered.  This  speaks  well  for  the  patriotism  of  St.  Barthol- 
omew's congregation.  The  names  of  these  men  are  on  record. 
They  served  either  in  the  commands  of  Capts.  Keith,  Gaffney, 
McGrayel  or  Harrington.      As   early  as    1848,  during  the  Mexican 

"7239) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

war,  Columbus  furnished  one  captain  and  five  privates,  who  were 
members  of  the  St.  Bartholomew's  church. 

In  1874,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Victor  A.  Schnell,  the 
congregation  bought  the  Pence  property,  corner  Washington  and 
Sixth  streets  (now  occupied  by  the  Odd  Fellows'  building).  This 
gave  the  congregation  an  entire  half-square  of  fine  property,  200 
feet  front  by  i  50  deep.  Three  years  later  a  new  school-house  was 
built  and  the  Sisters  reopened  their  school,  which  had  been  closed 
since  the  war  broke  out. 

During  the  pastorate  of  the  present  rector.  Rev.  A.  Oster,  the 
church  property  on  Washington  street  was  sold  and  the  fine  prop- 
erty on  the  corner  of  Eighth  and  Sycamore  streets  was  bought  of 
Hon.  Francis  T.  Hord,  whose  residence  it  had  been.  A  new 
church,  rectory  and  school-house  were  built.  The  property  repre- 
sents $50,000  in  value,  with  an  incumbrance  of  $5,000. 

Since  the  days  when  the  first  priest  visited  these  parts  and 
held  divine  ser\'ice  before  a  congregation,  composed  of  one  or  two 
families,  the  Catholic  church  in  Columbus  has  progressed  steadily, 
and  to-day  St.  Bartholomew's  is  one  of  the  strong  forces  in  the 
moral  and  religious  life  of  the  city. 

CONNERSVILLE,  FAYETTE  COUNTY. 

St.  Gabriel's  parish,  Connersville,  dates  from  August.  1846, 
and  at  that  date  began  the  curacy  of  Rev.  John  Ryan,  who  was 
located  at  Richmond,  Ind.  He  remained  in  charge  of  this  mission 
from  August,  1846,  to  June,  1848.  Ne.xt  the  Rev.  William  Doyle, 
then  a  resident  priest  of  Richmond,  had  charge  from  May.  1849, 
to  August,  1853,  3-iTd  boarded  with  A.  Ebert,  and  said  mass  in  his 
house.  A.  B.  Conwell  donated  two  lots  and  Father  Doyle  erected 
the  first  church  in  1851,  and  this  was  dedicated  to  St.  Gabriel  as 
its  patron  saint.  The  next  pastor  in  charge  was  Rev.  Henry 
Peters,  who  remained  from  1853  to  December  21,  1873- — a  twenty 
years'  pastorate.  He  completed  the  church  and  erected' a  spacious 
brick  parsonage.  The  basement  of  the  church  was  utilized  for 
school  purposes.  The  location  oi  the  church,  being  contiguous  to 
the  railroads,  was  an  unfavorable  one,  so  Father  Peters  purchased 
two  lots  in  another  part  of  the   town    in  1871,  and   on    these   lots 

(240) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

erected  a  school-house  of  brick,  and  the  Sisters  of  Providence  were 
placed  in  charge,  and  are  still  teaching  with  eminent  success  and 
have  an  enrolment  of  187  pupils.  Father  Peters  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  Peter  Bischof,  who  remained  initil  [876,  he  taking 
charge  July  12,  1S74.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  1^).  H.  Seepe, 
who  officiated  from  August,  1876,  to  May,  1881.  During  his 
administration  he  had  a  hard  struggle  to  manage  the  encumbrances 
of  the  parish.  He  was  followed  by  the  present  able  and  efficient 
rector.  Rev.  Francis  Joseph  Rudolf,  who  took  charge  of  the  parish 
May  4,   1 88 1 — an  administration  of  seventeen  years. 

The  present  membership  of  the  parish  will  number  200  fami- 
lies, or  1,000  souls;  The  fair  cash  value  of  the  Catholic  property 
of  the  parish  is  placed  at  $40,000.  There  are  five  sodalities  or 
church  societies,  all  in  a  flourishing  state. 

COVINGTON,  FOUNTAIN  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church  at  Covington,  Ind.,  was  erected  in  1861, 
at  a  cost  of  $6,000,  under  the  direction  of  Father  Stevens  and 
Father  Rademacher  and  was  dedicated  in  October,  1867,  by 
Bishop  Luers.  Prior  to  1859  Covington  had  been  visited  by  Father 
O'Flaherty.  of  Crawfordsville,  and  following  him  came  Father 
Stevens,  from  LaF'ayette,  as  resident  priest.  He  remained  until 
1863,  when  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  the  present  bishop  of  the 
diocese  of  Ft.  Wayne,  was  given  charge  of  the  parish  and  sur- 
rounding missions,  and  under  this  able  clergyman  the  church  edi- 
fice was  completed.  Father  Rademacher  was  succeeded  in  1870 
by  Rev.  J.  Blakeman,  who  officiated  until  1874.  For  si.x  months 
the  pastorate  was  held  by  Father  Cahill  and  then,  in  1874.  Father 
Mark  was  appointed,  who  did  faithful  work  until  1880.  He  was 
•followed  by  Father  Plaster,  who  zealously  labored  until  1885,  and 
was  follow^ed  by  Fathers  King,  Lentz  and  Lemper,  and  they  in 
1 89 1  by  Rev.  John  Tremmel,  who  also  has  a  mission  at  X'eeders- 
burg,  Fountain  county.  The  present  congregation  comprises 
about  forty  families  and  the  parish  is  in  an  excellently  flourishing 
condition. 


(-241) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 
CK.\\\'l'()KnS\'II.I.I'.,    MOXTC.OMl'.m    (■(irXT\'. 

St.  Bernard's  Church. — The  first  church-edifice  of  St.  Bernard 
was  erected  about  1855  or  1857,  and  its  first  permanent  pastor  was 
the   Rev.  Edward   O'Flaherty,  a   native   of   the    north   of    Ireland. 
Bernard  Kennedy,  as  layman,  was  largely  instrumental  in  causing 
the  erection  of  this  building  and  freely  contributed  toward  its  com- 
pletion.     The  congregation   grew   apace  and    in    1874  the  new  or 
present    building    was    erected    and    named    St.  Bernard,  partly  in 
honor  of  Mr.  Kennedy.      Rev.  Father  Walters,  then  pastor  of  the 
parish,  superintended  the  construction,  but  it  was  completed  under 
Father  Dinnen's  administration,  the  cost  approximating  $17,000;  a 
fine  pastoral  residence  was   also  erected.      The   school  had    been 
established  in  1866  at  a  cost  of  $5,000  and  was  placed  in  charge  of 
the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.      Father   Dinnen  had   charge  from 
1878  until    1894,  and   then   came   Father  Ci:osson.      The   parish   is 
now  in  a  most  thriving  condition  and  much  of  its  prosperity  is  due 
to  the  zeal   and    untiring   labors   of   Father  Crosson.      January  13, 
1898,  a  destructive  fire   broke  out   in   the  basement  of  the  church 
caused    by   defective    heating    apparatus,    entirely   destroying    the 
interior  and  causing  an  expense  of  $5,000  to  replace  it. 

The  school  has  an  attendance  of  121  pupils,  mostly  Irish. 
There  are  135  families  in  the  parish  at  Crawfordsville  and  at 
Ladoga,  a  mission  of  St.  Bernard's,  there  are  eighteen.  St.  Ber- 
nard's church  is  now  under  the  pastorate  of  the  \'ery  Rev.  John 
Dempsey. 

CROWN    POINT,    LARK    (Ol'XTY. 

St.  Mary's  Church.  —  Father  Wehrle  was  the  first  resident 
priest  in  this  parish  and  the  first  baptismal  sacrament  was  admin- 
istered December  31,  1865,  to  Anna  M.  Huber.  daughter  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  Huber;  the  first  matrimonial  sacrament  was  admin- 
istered February  8,  1866,  when  Matthias  Schmith  and  Catherine 
Scherer  were  united  in  marriage;  the  first  extreme  unction  was 
administered  May  27,  1867;  the  Holy  Rosary  society  was  formed  in 
1868,  and  at  the  dedication  of  the  first  church,  in  1868,  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  J.  H.  Luers  confirmed  into  the  faith  and  congregation 

r242i 


IN    THl':    STATIC    ()|-    INDIANA. 

the  following'  persons:  Jacob  F.  Sweene}-,  John  Pinter.  M.  Joseph 
Kramer,  Elizabeth  Met/,  Catherine  Johnson,  Bridget  Johnson, 
Catherine  Elizabeth  Sweeney,  Mary  Johanna  Sweencw  M.  Ehza- 
beth  Barman,  Mary  E.  Hardens,  Matilda  Hack,  Mary  11  Hillerich, 
Mary  Blazer,  Anna  M.  Blazer,  M.  Catherine  Young,  Mary  Cath- 
erine Manus  and  Mrs.  Klein.  St.  Mary's  congregation  since  that 
time  has  continued  to  increase  and  wax  strong,  and  much  of  this 
growth  is  due  to  the  faithful  work  of  Father  Guethoff,  whom  the 
congregation  reverence  as  a  pious  and  devoted  pastor  and  admire 
for  his  many  admirable  (jualities  as  a  man. 

The  new  church  is  50  x  i  i  3  feet  in  size  and  its  tower  is  145 
feet  high.  The  auditorium  has  a  seating  capacity  for  600  persons, 
and  the  nationality  of  the  congregation  is  about  three-fourths  Ger- 
man, the  remainder  being  Irish,  Polish  and  Bohemian.  The  old 
church  has  been  raised  ten  feet,  has  been  remodeled  into  a  school- 
house  and  accommodates  at  least  two  hundred  pupils.  By  remov- 
ing certain  partitions  the  building  can  be  converted  into  a  hall 
60x30  feet.  The  old  structure  is  two  stories  high  and  contains 
four  school  rooms.  The  church  property  has  450  feet  of  frontage 
and  the  same  depth,  and  the  priest's  residence  and  Sisters'  house 
are  on  the  same  property. 

DAVIESS    COUNTY. 

It  is,  perhaps,  idle  to-day  to  go  back  earlier  than  18 19  to  find 
any  Catholics  in  Daviess  county.  True,  priests  and  bishops  passed 
through,  en  route  from  Louisville  to  \*incennes  and  back,  but  to 
dwell  on  these  would  be  no  more  fruitful  of  satisfactory  results 
than  to  claim  that  a  certain  old  converted  Indian  chief,  who  was 
camped  with  his  tribe  on  the  banks  of  White  river  about  1795.  and 
who  used  to  attend  mass  at  \'incennes.  was  the  first  Catholic  in 
the  county.  To  leave  the  merely  hypothetical  and  come  down  to 
the  authentical,  and  not  to  narrow  the  honors  too  much,  the  Mur- 
phys  and  the  Spinks  at  Washington,  and  the  Montgomerys  at 
Black  Oak  Ridge,  were  the  first  Catholic  settlers  in  Daviess  county, 
and  the  Baineys  and  O'Brians  were  the  first  in  Martin  county. 
Reference  is  had,  of  course,  to  the  territory  now  known  b}-  the 
above  names. 

1243) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  first  church  in  either  county  was  the  rude  log  one  put  up 
at  Black  Oak  Ridge:  the  second  was  the  log  one  at  St.  Mary's; 
the  third  was  at  St.  Simon's.  Washington;  the  fourth  at  St.  Rose, 
Mt.  Pleasant;  the  fifth,  St.  Patrick,  at  Glencoe;  the  sixth,  the  one 
in  Miles'  settlement;  the  seventh,  St.  Patrick's,  at  the  present  site; 
the  eighth,  St.  Johns,  at  Loogootee;  the  ninth,  St.  Martin's, 
at  Haw  Creek;  the  tenth.  St.  Louis,  at  Shoal's;  the  twelfth,  St. 
Joseph's;  the  thirteenth,  St.  Michael's.  Several  churches  were 
built  at  some  of  these  points,  i.  e.,  four  at  St.  Peter's,  two  at  St. 
Simon's,  four  at  St.  Mary's  and  two  at  Loogootee.  Three  of  the 
above,  those  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Miles'  settlement  and  Glencoe.  have 
been  abandoned  for  other  sites,  the  last  named  only  partially,  how- 
ever, so  we  have  at  present  ten  parishes  proper — four  in  Martin 
and  six  in  Daviess  county.  The  great  majority  of  the  Catholic 
population  are  those  who  came  from  Kentucky  or  Ireland.  The 
Germans  stand  next  as  to  numbers,  though  they  are  quite  modern 
as  to  date  of  settlement.  There  are  and  have  been  a  few  French 
families;  a  few  other  families  came  direct  from  Maryland  and  a  few 
from  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Pennsylvania  and  •  Ohio.  The 
first  settlers  were  attracted  to  these  counties  because  of  the  rich 
lands  for  sale  at  a  very  low  price.  This  "land  craze,"  as  it  may 
be  called,  gave  rise  entirely  to  St.  Joseph's,  St.  Peter's  and  St. 
Mary's  parishes  and  largely  to  that  of  Mt.  Pleasant.  The  ^^'abash 
&  Erie  canal  gave  rise  to  St.  Patrick's  parish,  and  added  materi- 
ally to  St.  Simon's,  St.  Peter's  and  St.  Mary's.  The  O.  cS:  M.  R. 
R.  gave  rise  to  St.  John's  at  Loogootee  and  added  to  all  conve- 
nient to  its  line.  The  opening  of  the  coal  mines  at  Washington, 
Cannelburg  and  Montgomery  added  many  new  names  to  the  lists 
of  St.  Simon's  and  St.  Peter's,  benefiting  the  former  much  more 
substantially  than  the  latter,  and  largely  gave  use  to  the  church  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception.  The  piking  of  the  state  road  from 
New  Albany  to  \'incennes,  which  work  was  never  finished,  ben- 
efited chiefly  the  Mt.  Pleasant  or  present  Haw  Creek  parish.  The 
last,  and  also  important,  influx  of  Catholics  was  occasioned  by  the 
concentration  of  the  B.  c\:  O.  S.  W.  R.  R.  shops  at  \\'ashing- 
ton.   Ind. 

St.  Mary's,  Uaviess  county,  was  visited   in  182S   by  the   Rev. 

(244) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Simon  P.  Laluiniere,  who  celebrated  the  august  mysteries  in  the 
house  of  Nathaniel  Spalding.  This  house  still  exists  and  is  pointed 
out  to  the  stranger  as  the  beginning  of  St.  Mary's.  Divine  serv- 
ices continued  to  be  held  at  this  house  for  about  five  years.  Bishop 
Brute  writes:  "  A  few  days  after  (November  6,  1834;  I  went  with 
the  Rev.  ^tr.  l^alumiere  to  visit  his  two  missions — first  to  St. 
Peter's  and  then  to  St.  Mary's.  The  last  was  not  quite  completed 
and  I  was  requested  to  name  it.  It  was  a  great  happiness  to  me 
to  put  the  first  church  which  I  was  called  upon  to  bless  in  my  new 
diocese,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Blessed  Mother  of  God,  so  I 
named  it  St.  Mary's,  aud  promised  to  return  again  in  two  weeks 
and  bless  it  when  it  was  finished." 

The  Rev.  M..  de  St.  Palais  was  appointed  the  first  resident 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's,  and  remained  from  1S36,  the  year  of  his 
arrival  in  this  country,  until  1839,  when  he  was  removed  to  Chi- 
cago. The  log  church  becoming  too  small  for  the  congregation, 
Father  de  St.  Palais  built  a  new  church. 

The  Rev.  John  Gueguen  became  the  second  pastor,  and  had 
charge  of  St.  Mary's  and  the  neighboring  missions  until  1848, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  P.  J.  R.  Murphy.  Father 
Murphy  had  charge  also  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  and  built  a  church  there. 
The  town  and  church  are  now  both  extinct.  It  is  on  record  that 
Bishop  Flaget,  accompanied  by  Father  Abell,  in  August,  1823, 
confirmed  thirty-four  persons  at  Mt.  Pleasant:  in  1829  Bishop 
Flaget  again  visited  the  place,  and  found  about  forty  Catholic 
families  there.  Father  Murphx  also  attended  Bloomington.  Mon- 
roe county. 

The  Rev.  John  Mougin  resided  at  St.  Mar} 's  from  1858  to 
i860,  when  he  built  a  church  at  Loogootee,  and  resided  there 
until  1866,  visiting  St.  Mary's  from  Loogootee.  Rev.  J.  Leblanc 
was  pastor  of  St.  Mary's,  residing  at  St.  Mary's,  until  February, 
1873,  attending  also  Miles'  Settlement,  eight  miles  from  St.  Mary's. 
For  six  months  St.  Mary's  was  then  attended  alternately  by  the 
pastors  of  St.  Peter's  and  of  Loogootee.  The  Rev.  G.  M.  Ginnsz 
came  next,  and  was  pastor  from  November.  1873,  until  Septem- 
ber, 1875.  The  Rev.  John  W.  Doyle  succeeded  him  and  was  the 
pastor  for  three  years.      The  old  church  becoming   too   small  for 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  congregation.  Father  Doyle  made  preparations  for  the  building 
of  a  new  church,  but  was  removed  to  Washington  in  the  midst  of 
his  work.  After  him  came  the  Rev.  L.  M.  S.  Burkhardt,  who 
remained  from  April  4.  1879,  until  October  16,  1879.  Rev.  T. 
0"Donaghue  successfully  administered  the  temporalities  and  spirit- 
ualities of  St.  Marys.  He  continued  the  work  on  the  new  church 
and  completed  it  in  the  spring  of  188 1.  It  is  a  handsome  struc- 
ture, 110x55  feet.  It  is  the  third  church  built  at  St.  Mary's — 
the  first  bv  Father  Lalumiere  in  1834,  the  second  by  Father  de 
St.  Palais  in  1839.  the  third  by  Father  O'Donaghue  in  1881. 
Father  O'Donaghue  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  McCabe,  Feb- 
ruary I,  1890. 

St.  Patrick's  Church,  of  Daviess  county. — One  of  the  old  rec-, 
ord  books  at  St.  Simon's  contains  the  following  names  as  being 
those  confirmed  at  St.  Patrick's  by  Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere 
November  24,  1845  :  James  Taylor,  Stephen  Pennington,  Michael 
Delaney.  William  Kane,  George  Major,  John  Delaney,  John 
Brewer  and  Thomas  Agan.  Land  was  first  secured  about  1837  at 
old  St.  Patrick's,  or  Glencoe,  as  it  was  usually  called,  by  Father 
Lalumiere,  w^ho  bought  eighty  acres  with  the  intention,  it  is  said, 
of  laying  off  and  founding  a  town,  to  be  known  as  O'Cownetts- 
ville,  but  this  project  fell  through  and  the  land  was  sold.  Soon 
the  place  was  attended  from  St.  Peter's  and  in  1840  the  Rev.  J. 
Delaune  built  the  first  and  only  church,  which  was  of  logs.  P'ather 
Sorin  visited  it  while  at  St.  Peter's  and  after  him  it  was  attended 
by  Fathers  Dupontavice  and  Ducondray  until  1847,  when  Father 
Piers  took  charge,  retaining  it  until  1870,  w^hen  the  succession  con- 
tinued as  related  elsewhere. 

Only  a  small  proportion  of  the  graves  in  the  older  cemetery 
have  tombstones,  but  from  these  some  names  and  dates  of  interest 
are  gleaned.  Patrick  Donnelly  was  born  in  1798  and  died  in 
1876.  Near  his  grave  are  buried  the  remains  of  Eliza  Donnelly, 
wife  of  Owen  Cavanaugh,  who  died  in  1881.  aged  forty-one; 
Matthew  died  in  1849,  aged  twenty-seven  ;  Thomas  A.  died  in 
1873,  aged  twenty-seven  ;  Mary  E.,  who  was  seven  years  old  when 
she  died  in  1869  ;  Mary  E.  was  born  in  Memphis  and  the  others 
in   county  We.xford,  Ireland  ;   Margaret,  wife  of   Philip  Garragan, 

(246r 


IX    THE    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

died  in  1854.  a^ed  fifty.  The  ^rave  of  Raphael  Smith,  a  pioneer 
settler,  is  marked  by  a  simple  wooden  cross,  on  which  is  painted 
the  legend,   "  Raphael  Smith,  died  1888,"  and  nothing  more. 

Part  of  the  land  on  which  the  new  church  stands  was  devoted 
to  burying  purposes  for  those  convenient  to  it  and  is  known  as  the 
new  cemetery,  and  the  old  cemetery  was  continued  in  use  for  the 
benefit  of  the  cluster  of  families  living  in  that  locality.  The  first 
body  buried  in  the  new  place  was  that  of  Mrs.  Ann  Cooney  in 
1859;  and  the  ne.\t  was  that  of  James  McGuire,  the  ne.xt  year. 
None  of  the  settlers  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  church  came 
here  earlier  than  1840.  Nearly  all  had  been  employed  on  the 
canal  and  came  there  to  invest  their  savings  in  land. 

The  present  St.  Patrick's  church  was  built  in  i860  by  Rev.  II. 
Piers,  who  was  then  attending  the  parish  from  Montgomery. 
There  were  two  sides  in  the  congregation,  and  naturally  enough 
the  one  at  the  old  location,  Czlencoe,  as  it  was  called,  was  opposed 
to  the  removal  of  the  church,  as  it  would  entail  a  journey  of  some 
miles  in  attending,  but  Father  Piers  thought  the  new  location  more 
centrally  located  and  decided  definitely  upon  it.  The  spirit  of 
dissension  thus  begotten  was  left  unallayed  for  some  time,  but 
Father  Piers  continued  the  devoted  pastor  of  the  people  of  St. 
Patrick's  until  1870,  having  served  them  since  1847;  in  1870  Rev. 
William  Doyle  became  the  first  resident  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's. 
About  1875  he  began  the  erection  of  a  commodious  pastoral  resi- 
dence, which  cost  about  $2,000.  A  log  addition  to  its  rear  was 
built,  partly  of  the  logs  from  the  old  St.  Patrick's  church  at  Glen- 
coe,  and  while  the  two  buildings  did  not  blend  very  well,  there 
was  at  least  an  exemplification  of  the  union  that  was  desirable 
between  the  two  wings  of  the  parish.  To  this  house  there  was  a 
good  stone  foundation  inclosing  a  roomy  cellar  and  basement 
rooms.  Father  Doyle  also  provided  the  church  with  a  bell,  which 
cost  $250,  and  this  is  hung  on  scaffolding   in    front  of   the  church. 

In  1880  P'ather  Doyle  resigned  on  account  of  ill-health,  and 
he  was  soon  after  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  G.  M.  Ginnsz.  who 
showed  considerable  spirit  in  his  efforts  for  the  betterment  of  the 
parish  and  people.  .\s  one  means  to  this  end  he  organized  St. 
Patrick's   Total   Abstinence  society,    with  a  membership   of  sixty. 

"(247} 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

This  did  much  good  for  sobriety,  charity  and  benevolence,  and  is 
still  in  existence.  In  1883  he  made  some  improvements  and 
added  the  finishing  touches  to  the  priest's  house,  which  was  built 
by  Doyle.  He  also  undertook  the  building  of  a  chapel  on  the 
ground  where  the  old  St.  Patrick's  church  had  stood.  He  got 
several  generous  subscriptions  there  and  had  the  foundation  built 
and  some  material  collected.  He  vvas  removed  to  Loogootee  in 
August,  1885,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  Curran,  who 
has  labored  zealously  for  the  building  up  of  the  people  not  only 
spiritually  but  temporally.  His  Sunday  sermons  always  have  a 
well  defined  and  needed  end  in  view,  and  the  very  choicest  words 
are  banded  together  in  smoothest  sentences.  Father  Curran  has 
greatly  improved  the  church  by  having  it  nicely  ceiled,  re-roofed, 
re-floored  and  wainscoted.  He  has  also  purchased  an  additional 
plat  of  eighteen  acres  of  land  adjoining  the  church  property.  But  his 
most  important  and  of  course  most  arduous  work  was  the  building 
of  the  chapel  and  school-house  on  the  site  of  old  St.  Patrick's. 
He  began  this  work  in  August,  1887,  and  completed  it  in  Novem- 
ber of  the  same  year.  This  building  is  of  brick  and  contains  two 
well-furnished  school-rooms,  each  22x28  feet,  and  a  prettily 
arranged  chapel  that  contains  twenty-four  pews.  The  total  cost 
was  $4,000,  and  not  a  cent  of  debt  remains  on  it  now.  The  chapel 
is  used  only  for  the  celebration  of  mass  when  persons  are  brought 
there  for  burial  in  the  old  burying  ground.  The  building  is  quite 
a  handsome  and  showy  one  and  the  people  of  the  locality  are 
proud  of  it.  Edward  Lamb,  who  died  recently,  was  the  most 
enthusiastic  in  the  matter  and  contributed  $500  to  its  erection. 
His  son,  James,  gave  $200;  Andrew  Farrell,  $100;  James  Morin. 
$100;  William  Donnelly,  $100;  Michael  Zinkans,  $100,  while 
others  gave  lesser  amounts,  and  many  contributed  willingly  their 
labor. 

The  present  pastoral  residence  was  built  in  1895.  It  is  a 
handsome  brick,  two  stories  in  height,  with  ten  rooms,  and  cost 
about  $3,000.  The  school  is  public,  but  as  the  patrons  are  all 
Catholic  a  Catholic  teacher  is  engaged  and  when  the  public  term 
is  ended  the  congregation  continues  the  school  for  some  months  by 
private     contributions,     under    the     same     teacher    usually,    both 

K24H) 


ST.   MARY'S   CHURCH, 
DECATUR,   IND. 


IN   THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

schools  being   well   attended.      The   congrej^^atioii    numbers   about 
135  families. 

l)i;cATUR,     ADAMS    COUNTY. 

I 

St.  Mary's  Church. — In  the  year  1837  Henry  Dierkes,  Henry 
Minter,  Joseph  Smith,  Anthony  Kohne  and  Bernard  Holthaus 
arrived  at  Decatur,  the  town  having  been  laid  out  in  1836  by  Samuel 
L.  Rugg,  John  Reynolds  and  Joseph  Johnson.  At  their  arrival, 
there  were  but  few  houses — those  of  Jacob  Huffer,  Rugg,  Rey- 
nolds, Veiier  and  James  Niblick. 

In  the  following  year,  1838,  came  George  Fettich,  John  Mul- 
ler,  George  Spuller,  Timothy  Coffee,  Daniel  Coffee,  John  Closs 
and  Henry  Will.  In  the  spring  of  1838  the  first  mass  was  said  in 
George  Fettich's  house  by  Father  Mueller  ;  in  1840  arrived  Henry 
Heidemann  and  Henry  Grutzkamp,  and  in  1841  John  Meiber's  fam- 
ily came.  The  second  priest  of  St.  Mary's  congregation  was 
Father  Hamion.  The  first  Catholics  baptized  at  Decatur  were 
Minnie  Holthaus,  afterward  the  wife  of  Conrad  Brake,  and  Mary 
Closs,  now  wife  of  Peter  Holthaus.  The  first  marriage  was  that 
of  Timothy  Coffee  and  Margaret  Mueller,  by  Father  Hamion,  on 
the  lOth  of  January,  1841.  The  third  priest  was  Father  Joseph 
Rudolph.  He  took  up  a  subscription  for  a  church  and  was  assisted 
by  Timothy  Coffee,  who  collected  $75,  and  by  John  Closs  and 
Anthony  Kohne,  who  collected  $200  at  Cincinnati.  The  beginning 
of  the  new  church  was  made  by  the  Spullers,  who  brought,  with 
oxen,  through  the  then  deep  mud,  the  he^v}-  timber  for  the  first 
church. 

The  fourth  priest  here  was  Father  Moncina  and  the  fifth  was 
Father  E.  M.  Faller.  In  1842  the  graveyard  in  the  south  part  of 
town  was  bought.  Father  Faller  began  to  build  the  old  church  in 
1846.  Before  this  time  mass  was  said  in  Fettich's  house,  in  the 
Closs  tavern  and  in  the  old  court  house.  During  this  time  Father 
J.  Benoit  came  here  to  say  mass  and  to  preach  in  English  and  in 
French  and  attend  the  sick.  In  1847  the  old  frame  church  was 
plastered.  Father  Faller  also  bought  the  first  bell  at  Cincinnati 
for  $60,  which   bell   had    to   be  shipped   by  canal  to  Fort  \\'ayne. 

15  (249) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

During  Father  Faller's  time  were  bought  three  more  lots,  so  the 
church  ground  consisted  of  six.  The  sixth  priest.  Father  B.  H. 
Schulties,  was  the  first  permanently  stationed  here,  and  he  built  in 
1852  the  old  priest's  house  and  remained  until  August,   1856. 

From  August,  1856,  until  June,  1857,  Father  Faller  and 
Father  Rudolph  paid  visits  to  St.  Mary's  congregation.  From 
June,  1857,  Father  Sebastian  Gontez,  C.  PP.  S.,  officiated  until 
May,  1858.  x\fter  him,  in  1858,  came  Father  L.  Schneider,  who 
remained  but  a  few  months.  In  July,  1858,  came  Father  Jacob 
Greyer,  who  remained  until  September.  1862.  Previous  to  this  there 
were  two  missions  held.  The  first  one,  in  1857,  by  Father  Andrew 
Kunkler,  C.  PP.  S. ;  the  second  one  by  Father  F.  X.  Wenninger, 
S.  J.,  in  1859.  Father  Meyers,  there  being  no  stationary  priest 
here,  and  Father  Heikmann,  from  St.  Mary's  church,  Fort  Wayne, 
came  here  occasionally  to  say  mass.  In  January,  1865,  Father 
Julius  Becks  came  and  remained  one  year.  After  him  the  congre- 
gation was  without  a  pastor  until  the  fall  of  1865,  when  Father 
John  Wemhoff  came  and  remained  until  September,  1872.  He 
took  up  a  subscription  for  the  present  brick  church  and  had  the 
foundation  laid. 

In  September,  1872,  Father  Wemhoff  was  succeeded  by 
Father  F.  Von  Schwedler,  who  remained  until  February,  1877,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Father  J.  Nusbaum,  who  remained  until  July, 
1880,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Father  H.  Theo.  W^ilken,  who  in 
the  same  year,  1880,  began  the  new  brick  school-house,  which 
was  finished  in  1881.  He  also  built,  in  1885,  anew  parsonage, 
and  is  at  present  the  resident  priest. 

The  St.  Mary's  people  have  grown  from  a  small  beginning 
into  a  large  congregation,  consisting,  in  1898,  of  230  families,  or 
over  1,300  souls.  It  also  has  a  good  church  property,  consisting 
of  a  large  brick  church,  a  good  brick  school-house  with  four  rooms, 
and  new  brick  parsonage.  In  1893  a  Sisters'  house,  with  twelve 
rooms,  and  a  school-house  with  two  rooms  were  added.  May  i, 
1888,  Rev.  Wilken  was  made  irremovable  rector  and  in  the  fall 
of  1896  an  assistant  priest  was  furnished. 


(250j 


IN    TIIK    STATE    ()!•     INDIANA. 


1)()\i:k,    I)i:.\ki?()kn  county. 


St.  John  the  Baptist's  Parish  at  Dover. — The  records  oi  this 
parish  date  as  far  back  as  1840,  but  in  1820  there  was  erected  a 
rude  structure,  as  a  place  of  worship,  by  the  parishioners,  who  were 
chietly  Irish  and  EngHsh  CathoHcs,  and  the  parish  was  admin- 
istered to  by  missionary  priests  who  passed  through  this  section  of 
Indiana  from  Cincinnati,  Bardstown,  Ky.,  and  \'incennes,  Ind.  In 
1840  the  records  of  St.  John's  assumed  permanent  shape,  and 
showthat  Father  Schneiderjans  was  the  hrst  priest  who  admin- 
istered to  the  people  regularly. 

Bishop  J.  B.  Purcell,  November  5,  1848,  administered  the 
rites  of  confirmation  to  the  Hrst  class  of  si.\ty-six  in  St.  John's  the 
Baptist,  at  Cross  Roads,  as  the  name  of  Dover  was  then  unknown. 
Father  Schneiderjans,  the  first  resident  priest,  remained  fronn 
March  12.  1840,  to  .'Vpril  26,  1844;  he  replaced  the  log  church  by 
a  frame  structure  more  spacious,  and  was  followed  b\-  Kl\-.  Joseph 
Ferneding  from  1841  to  June  9,  1842.  and  his  successor  was  Father 
O'Rourke,  who  officiated  from  June.  1842,  to  1846.  Next  was 
Rev.  Andrew  Bennett.  At  this  time  the  little  frame  church 
became  too  small  for  the  growing  congregation,  and  Father  Ben- 
nett, in  1847,  erected  the  first  brick  edifice,  60x35  ^eet,  with  a 
spire  and  a  small  bell.  He  remained  until  1858.  In  1859  Father 
Weinzoepfel  attended  to  the  parish  from  New  Alsace  until  Novem- 
ber, i860.  Father  Anthony  Scheideler  was  the  next  rector.  He 
came  in  December,  i860,  to  St.  Leon,  Ind.,  and  from  that  place 
attended  to  St.  John  the  Baptist  until  1870.  He  made  great 
improvements  in  the  parish.  He  erected  the  stations  in  the  church, 
built  the  sanctuary  to  the  church,  and  put  in  a  new  altar  in  1863 
and  in  1864  procured  a  new  pipe  organ,  the  first  musical  instru- 
ment placed  in  the  church.  In  1865  he  erected  the  new  brick 
school  of  two  stories,  and  two  rooms  for  school  purposes  and 
rooms  for  the  Sisters'  home.  This  parish  was  the  first  in  Dear- 
born county  to  establish  the  Franciscan  Sisters  from  Oldenburg, 
Ind.  March  18,  1866,  Father  Duddenhausen  came  and  remained 
in  the  parish  until  September  20,  1870.  During  his  pastorate  the 
ground  was  purchased  upon  which  the  rectory  and  the  new  church 

~T25r> 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Stand,  procured  a  large  bell  and  made  other  improvements,  and  all 
was  paid  for.  Bishop  Maurice  de  St.  Palais  went  on  an  official 
trip  to  Rome,  but  had  selected  Father  Schnel'l  to  take  charge  of 
the  parish  before  departing.  He  came  in  November,  1S70,  and 
remained  until  MarCh,  1871,  when  he  returned  to  his  former 
charge  at  Edinburg,  which  parish  had  petitioned  the  bishop  for  his 
return.  Following  him  came  Rev.  H.J.  Seibertz,  in  April,  1871, 
and  remained  till  August,  1877.  Du  ing  his  administration,  in 
1874.  he  succeeded  in  erecting  the  new  church  and  spire,  added  a 
third  bell  and  made  other  improvements,  though  leaving  the 
interior  of  the  church  unfinished.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  pres- 
ent pastor,  Rev.  Father  B.  H.  Brueggemann.  There  existed  a 
little  hard  feeling  in  the  parish  on  account  of  the  removal  of  the 
new  church  to  the  present  site,  but  Father  Brueggemann,  by  his 
well-known  zeal  and  tact,  has  restored  harmony  and  peace. 

DUBOIS   corxTV. 

St.  Anthony's  Church,  Dubois  county,  has  had  i.ts  existence 
since  1864,  when  the  Rev.  U.  J.  Meister,  from  Celestine,  erected 
a  small  log  church-building  and  a  log  parsonage,  and  remained  in 
charge  until  1868,  when  he  met  with  a  sudden  and  melancholy 
death  by  being  struck  by  the  limb  of  a  falling  tree  while  he  was 
overseeing  the  clearing  of  the  church  ground.  This  lamented  pas- 
tor was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  Kauffmann,  who  officiated 
until  1870,  and  the  succession  thereafter  was  as  follows:  Rev. 
Eberhard  Stadler  until  1872;  Rev.  Placidus  Zarn  until  1875;  Rev. 
Henry  Hug  until  1877;  Rev.  Benedict  Brunet  until  1879;  Rev. 
Alphonse  Leute  until  1883;  Rev.  C.  Thomas  until  1885,  when  Rev. 
Basil  Heusler,  the  present  pastor,  was  placed  in  charge. 

In  1882  Rev.  Father  Leute  commenced  the  erection  of  a  new 
church-edifice,  which  was  completed  sufficiently  for  divine  serv- 
ice in  1885.  Since  the  incumbency  of  Father  Heusler,  who 
■came  here  September  i,  1885,  he  has  put  a  stone  floor  in  the 
church,  introduced  new  pews,  placed  the  bells  and  roofed  the  build- 
ing with  tin.  The  large  altar  is  of  stone  and  the  pulpit  on  the 
north  side  of  the  auditorium  is  of  black  walnut.  The  tower,  which 
is  115   feet  high,  was   also  erected  by  Father   Heusler.      The  new 

(2W 


I.\    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

church  was  blessed  December  20,  1885,  by  Rev.  ('.  Thomas,  and 
the  first  divine  services  therein  were  conducted  on  the  same  day. 
September  26.  18S6.  the  church  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Cha- 
tard.  February  22,  1890,  five  new  bells  were  received,  the  total 
weight  of  which  is  4,000  pounds  and  the  cost  $786.80.  These 
bells,  in  June,  1891,  were  also  blessed  by  Bishop  Chatard.  June 
4.  1^93.  ground  was  broken  for  a  new  parsonage.  This  building 
is  of  frame,  is  two  stories  high,  contains  twelve  rooms  and  has 
attached  to  it  an  ell.  It  is  a  fine  looking  building,  is  nicely  fur- 
nished and  is  a  credit  to  the  pastor  as  well  as  to  the  congregation. 

The  Sisters'  residence,  just  north  of  the  church-building,  was 
erected  in  June.  1897,  ^t  a  cost  of  $866.35,  including  work  donated. 
The  total  value  of  St.  Anthony's  parish  is  now  about  $25,000. 
The  present  membership  comprises  about  100  families,  while  in 
1864  it  numbered  but  forty.  The  church  societies  are  in  a  flour- 
ishing condition,  and  the  school,  which  was  established  in  1864  by 
Father  Meister,  now  has  an  enrolment  of  166  pupils,  who  are  in 
charge  of  three  Benedictine  Sisters.  The  parish  is  located  seven 
miles  east  of  Huntingburg  and  nine  miles  southeast  of  Jasper  on 
the  Air  Line  railroad,  and  the  little  village  of  St.  Anthony  has  a 
population  of  perhaps  200. 

St.  Henry's  Church. — In  1863  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Henry's 
was  laid  by  the  Very  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor,  vicar-general,  O.  S.  B., 
and  by  him  the  church  was  dedicated.  There  were  twenty  fam- 
ilies in  the  parish  at  that  time  and  the  congregation  was  adminis- 
tered to  by  the  Benedictine  Fathers  of  St.  Meinrad  until  Father 
Benedict  came  in  December,  1865,  and  here  remained  until  1872; 
Father  B.  H.  Kintrup  came  in  1878,  and  during  the  same  year 
built  the  priest's  house.  In  October,  1879,  came  Rev.  Pius 
Boehm,  O.  S.  B.,  the  first  resident  priest,  and  he  remained  until 
1885.  Then  Rev.  William  Wack  came  and  remained  until  June, 
1891. 

During  Father  Pius"  time  of  duty  the  Sisters'  house  was 
erected,  and  the  school  placed  in  charge  of  two  Sisters.  The 
school  has  been  conducted  by  them  with  some  interruptions  since 
1882.  Rev.  Frank  X.  Seegmueller  succeeded  Father  Wack  in 
February,  1891,  but  died   September   20,   1892.      F'^ather   Placidus 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Zarn,  O.  S.  B.,  then  came  and  remained  until  October,  1892; 
Rev.  Alex  Koesters  came  October  25,  1892,  and  remained  until 
October  i,  1894.  In  February,  1895,  Rev.  Ferdinand  Hundt 
came  and  remained  until  November,  1897,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Lawrence  Fichter,  who  remained  until  March,  1897. 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Father  Hommes,  the  present 
pastor.  The  parish  is  in  a  very  healthy  state,  and  but  little  debt 
rests  upon  it.  The  value  of  the  church  property  of  St.  Henry  is 
placed  at  $5,000. 

DYKK,    'lake    county. 

St.  Joseph's  Church  at  Dyer  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Schmitz,  who,  aided  by  the  liberal  contributions  of  about  fifty-one 
of  tlie  leading  members  of  the  laity,  succeeded  in  erecting  a  beau- 
tiful church-edifice  before  the  close  of  July,  1867,  at  a  cost  of 
$5,000.  Feather  Schmitz  was  succeeded,  in  order,  by  the  Rev. 
Fathers  B.  Th.  Borg,  B.  Wiedau,  King,  Frund,  Steurer  and  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Flach,  the  latter  officiating  from  the  spring  of  1878 
until  1883,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Charles  V.  Stetter, 
D.  D..  who  remained  until  1888,  when  Rev.  Joseph  Flach  was 
again  given  charge  of  the  parish  and  is  still  the  resident  pastor. 
The  congregation  now  comprises  sixty-eight  families,  all  German 
with  two  exceptions.  The  school  is  in  charge  of  one  secular  male 
teacher  and  one  Franciscan  Sister  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  who  give 
instruction  to  eighty  children. 

EARL  PARK,  BENTON  COUNTY. 

St.  John  the  Baptist  Church  at  Earl  Park  was  first  attended 
as  a  mission  of  Kentland  and  of  -Fowler  until  1888,  when  Rev. 
Father  Vauzier  became  the  resident  priest  and  remained  until  the 
•coming  of  Father  Weber.  The  structure  is  of  frame,  is  about 
30x60  feet  in  dimensions  and  contains  a  large  hall.  The  ceme- 
tery, one  mile  southwest,  comprises  two  acres.  As  yet  there  is  no 
school  connected  with  St.  John's,  but  one  is  soon  to  be  established. 

EC.E,    NOHLl-:    COUNTY. 

The  Immaculate  Conception  Church  at  Ege  (French  settle- 
ment) was  organized  about    1853,  coincident  with  the  organization 


IN    THM    STATI':    O]-    INDIANA. 

of  the  church  at  A\  ilia,  and  w  as  attended  by  clerfjymen  from  the  lat- 
ter place  until  the  advent  of  Father  Franzer  in  1H77,  who  remained 
until  1S80,  when  Father  Ege  came  and  officiated  until  1897.  For 
a  short  time  thereafter  I'^ather  Jurascheck  ministered  to  the  spiritual 
needs  of  the  parishioners,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  F.  Faust,  the 
present  pastor,  whose  name  closes  the  list  of  incumbents  up  to  date. 
The  congregation  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  church,  in 
the  beginning,  comprised  but  seven  families,  but  it  now  numbers 
seventy-five.  The  first  church,  a  frame,  24x56  feet,  was  practi- 
cally built  and  donated  by  Gabriel  Girardot,  who  also  donated  two 
acres  of  ground.  This  building  was  used  until  1876,  when  Father 
Duehmig  erected  the  present  church,  about  one-half  mile  west  of 
the  old  site,  which  is  now  used  for  a  cemetery.  The  new  building 
is  38  X  90  feet,  and  cost  about  $4,500.  I^ater,  Father  Duehmig, 
who  had  attended  from  Avilla  from  1867  until  1877,  moved  the  old 
church  to  close  proximity  with  the  new,  and  converted  it  into  a 
combined  school-house.  Sisters'  house,  and  priest's  residence,  but 
this  structure  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  Father  Ege  erected  a  fine 
new  building  for  the  same  uses.  The  school  is  attended  by  sixty- 
five  pupils,  who  are  under  the  instruction  of  two  Franciscan  Sis- 
ters of  the  Sacred  Heart. 

ELKHART,  ELKHART  COUNTY. 

Cathedral  of  St.  Vincent  De  Paul. — May  17,  1867,  Rev.  A. 
B.  Oechtering,  of  Mishawaka,  pastor  of  St.  Joseph  Catholic  church 
of  that  place,  assumed  charge  of  Elkhart  as  a  mission,  holding 
services  in  Conley's  hall  irregularly  until  March  8,  1868,  when  a 
permanent  organization  was  effected,  under  the  title  of  St.  \'in- 
cent  De  Paul.  A  new  church  was  immediately  commenced  on  the 
lot  purchased  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  J.  H.  Luers,  then  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese  of  Fort  Wayne.  The  corner-stone  was  laid,  July  12.  1868, 
by  the  bishop,  assisted  by  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering,  pastor,  and 
Rev.  D.  Duehmig.  of  Avilla,  the  size  being  28x56  feet,  and  on 
the  25th  of  October  following  the  church  was  opened  for  divine 
services,  although  in  an  unfinished  state,  not  completed  and  dedi- 
cated until  October  25,  1870.  Up  to  November  27,  1869,  Rev. 
A.  B.  Oechtering  was  in  charge,  after  which  Rev.  John  Oechtering 

(255) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

was  the  spiritual  head  until  November,  1870,  when  Rev.  A.  B. 
Oechtering  again  returned  and  filled  the  pulpit  to  November.  1871, 
when  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Ouinlan  was  appointed;  he  was  the  first  resi- 
dent pastor  and  remained  so  until  October,  1875,  when  Rev.  M.  F. 
Noll  took  his  place  and  remained  pastor  to  May,  1880.  when  he 
was  removed  and  his  place  filled  by  the  Rev.  Kroeger,  May  12, 
1880.  Among  the  prominent  members  of  the  church  were  Vincent 
Voisinett,  Joseph  Ludwig,  August  Ludwig,  Dennis  Brophy,  John 
Singer,  and  by  the  financial  aid  of  Mr.  Voisinett  especially,  the 
church  was  completed,  as  he  not  only  attended  to  its  erection  in 
person,  but  advanced  money  when  needed.  July  5,  1878,  the 
Rev.  Kroeger  purchased  the  site  of  the  present  cathedral,  and 
July  5.  1 88  I,  the  school  was  erected,  and  occupied  in  September 
following.  March  2,  1887,  ground  was  broken  for  the  new  edi- 
fice, and  the  corner-stone  laid  May  2,  1887,  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Joseph  Dwenger,  D.  D.,  of  Fort  Wayne,  assisted  by  Rev.  Kroeger, 
Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering,  of  Mishawaka,  Rev.  Kirch,  C.  S.  C. ,  of 
Notre  Dame,  and  Rev.  J.  A.  Kroeger,  of  Goshen,  Ind.  In  length 
it  is  125  feet,  in  width  50  feet,  and  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of 
the  gold  bronze  cross  on  the  spire  is  a  height  of  143  feet,  the  spire 
alone  being  75  feet  high.  The  distance  from  the  floor  to  the  ceil- 
ing is  36^  feet,  and  the  brick  work  has  a  height  of  29  feet.  The 
ceiling  is  groined  Gothic  in  architecture,  and  is  remarkably  hand- 
some. The  sanctuary  has  a  space  of  29  feet  in  depth,  21  feet  in 
width,  and  is  appropriately  furnished  with  symbols.  The  choir, 
which  is  situated  over  the  main  entrance,  is  also  very  spacious 
and  finely  constructed. 

The  stained  glass  windows  were  presented  by  the  various 
societies  of  the  church  and  by  individuals  as  follows:  The  large 
central  window  over  the  entrance,  by  Mrs.  Martin  Jordan,  Mrs. 
Joseph  Foy  and  Charlie  I'oy.  The  north  and  south  front  windows, 
by  Rev.  William  Kroeger,  C.  H.  Wagner,  Joseph  Ludwig.  August 
Ludwig,  Louis  Westerman,  William  Nopper  and  Frank  Karasch. 
The  first  windows  on  the  north  and  south  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
house  were  also  presented  by  the  foregoing  gentlemen,  making 
four  in  all  that  were  contributed  by  them;  the  second  window  on 
the  north  is  a  gift  of  the  first  communion  classes  of  1886  and  1888. 


IN    THK    STATP:    Ol'"    INDIANA. 


The  third  is  the  jt;ift  c;f  Anthony  Roy  and  Louis  Luclke.  The 
fourth  and  fifth  came  from  the  Blessed  Virj:^in  Mary's  sodahty. 
The  second  window  on  tlie  south  is  presented  by  the  Indiana 
council,  No.  8i,  C.  B.  I^. ,  the  third  by  C.  H.  Wagner,  and  the 
fourth  and  fifth  by  Rosary  sodality.  The  carpet  for  the  sanctuary 
is  presented  by  the  married  ladies  of  the  Rosary  sodality,  and  the 
matting  by  the  young  ladies  of  the  Blessed  Virgin's  sodality. 

The  inside  of  the  church  is  very  fine,  the  frescoing  having 
been  done  by  a  Munich  student,  Mr.  Henry  Meeker,  of  Logans- 
port,  Ind.  There  is  a  main  entrance  at  the  front  of  the  build- 
ing, and  a  doorway  on  each  side  of  the  entrance.  The  hghting  is 
done  by  two  large  gas  reflectors,  and  furnaces  afford  heat.  The 
present  pastor  is  the  Rev.  Henry  Aloysius  Boeckelmann,  who  was 
placed  in  charge  December  30,  1891.  The  seating  capacity  is 
about  1,000  and  1,200  can  be  taken  care  of  if  necessary. 

HL\V( )()!),    MADISON   COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  of  Elwood,  was  organized  by  Rev. 
Father  Malone  and  was  later  attended,  in  succession,  by  Rev- 
erends Fitzpatrick,  McMahon,  Crawley  and  Wiechmann,  until 
Father  Biegel  came.  Under  Father  Crawley  a  small  brick  church, 
25  X40  feet,  was  erected,  but  this  was  remodeled  and  enlaiged  by 
Father  Biegel  in  1891,  and  now  has  a  seating  capacity  for  about 
400  people.  But  the  energy  of  Father  Biegel  was  by  no  means 
exhausted  by  the  e.xecution  of  this  work,  beneficial  as  it  was.  In 
1889  he  built  the  residence  now  occupied  by  the  Sisters,  which 
served  temporarily  as  a  parsonage,  and  in  1896  erected  a  hand- 
some two-story  parochial  residence,  costing  $3,000.  He  also  laid 
out  a  beautiful  cemetery  of  five  acres,  one  mile  south  of  the  city, 
which  is  within  easy  access  of  the  church.  The  church  grounds 
are  300  feet  front  by  240  feet  deep,  on  which,  beside  the  church 
building,  the  parsonage  and  the  Sisters'  house,  there  is  a  school- 
building,  26  X  66  feet,  and  two  stories  high,  containing  four  con- 
venient school-rooms.  The  school  is  in  charge  of  five  listers  from 
St.  Joseph's  convent,  with  Sister  M;  de  Sales  as  directress,  and 
the  attendance  numbers  272  pupils.  The  property  on  the  coming 
of   Father    Biegel    comprised   two    lots   only,    the   additional   real 

"(257) 


A    HISTORY    Ul"    CATHOLICITY 

estate  having  been  purchased  by  him  at  a  cost  of  about  $  1,000. 
while  the  total  value  of  the  property  now  owned  by  the-congrega- 
tion  is  placed  at  $15,000.  These  figures  speak  well  for  the  zeal 
and  devotion  of  Father  Biegel.  and  have  won  for  him  the  devotion 
and  love  of  his  congregation,  who  esteem  him  not  alone  for  the 
temporal  work  he  has  done  in  their  behalf,  but  for  his  labors  for 
their  spiritual  welfare. 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  congregation  to  build  a  handsome 
new  church  in  the  very  near  future,  when  the  old  one  will  be  con- 
verted into  school-rooms,  etc. 

ENOCHSBURG,    P'RANKLIX   COUNTY. 

St  John's  Parish. — The  records  of  this  parish  date  from  1862 
only,  as  all  its  previous  history  was  destroyed  by  fire  some  years 
ago.  Father  Oesterling,  a  Franciscan  priest,  had  charge  of 
the  parish  in  1862,  and  was  followed  by  Father  Heck,  who 
remained  until  1879;  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  Stolz,  who 
remained  but  a  few  months,  and  he  by  Rev.  P.  Richardus,  a  Fran- 
ciscan, who  had  charge  but  a  short  time.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Father  Kemper,  who  remained  until  1882,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  the  present  rector,  Rev.  James  Pfeiffer,  who  has  been  the  pastor 
during  the  past  seventeen  years  and  has  made  many  valuable 
improvements  in  the  church  and  property,  among  which  are  new 
fences,  stone  walks,  stained  glass  windows,  new  pews,  a  new  organ 
(costing  $1,100),  matting  for  the  aisles,  a  new  altar,  and  new 
carpets  for  the  altar,  twelve  statues,  a  new  slate  roof  for  the  church, 
and  a  rector's  home.  He  has  paid  $1,300  debt  on  the  parish,  and 
has  expended  about  $5,000  on  the  property. 

The  church  is  erected  of  stone,  and  has  a  spire  about  135  feet 
in  height  with  three  bells;  the  membership  in  families  is  ninety, 
and  the  number  of  souls,  270.  The  school  is  under  the  guidance 
of  a  layman  teacher,  under  the  charge  of  the  priest,  and  has  an 
enrolment  of  sixty-five  pupils.  St.  John's  is  ten  miles  east  of 
Greensburg,  and  six  miles  northwest  of  Batesville,  Decatur  county. 

EVANSVILLE,     \'AXDEKBlRc;    COUNTY. 

Assumption  Parish,  Fvansville,  was  the  first  Catholic  congrega- 
tion organized  south  of  Vincennes.      It,  of   course,  included  all  the 

(258r 


IN"    THE    STATE    Ol-     INDIANA. 

Catholics  of  Evansville  at  one  time.  In  the  year  1836  this  could 
easil)'  ha\'c  been  the  case,  for  the  Catholic  population  then  con- 
sisted of  but  two  families,  that  of  Mr.  Linck  and  that  of  the  late 
John  \\'alsh.  The  Assumption  remained  the  sole  church  until 
185 1,  when  the  Holy  Trinity  parish  was  organi;:ed  for  German- 
speakinj;-  Catholics. 

In  1837  Rev.  Father  Deydier  became  Evansville's  first  resident 
pastor,  and  in  1839  a  lot  on  Second  street  upon  which  to  build 
Assumption  church  was  secured  for  the  sum  of  $1,200.  In  1840, 
August  5,  the  covner-stone  was  laid  by  the  French  bishop  of 
Nancy,  Monseigneur  Forbin  Jeanson,  who  was  then  on  a  visit  to 
the  diocese  of  \'incenne3.  Rev.  Stephen  Badin,  the  first  priest 
ordained  in  the  United  States,  preached  the  sermon  on  the  occasion. 
In  that  year  Rev.  Roman  Weinzoepfel,  just  ordained  at  Vincennes, 
was  sent  as  assistant  to  Father  Deydier.  In  1849  Rev.  Patrick 
McDermott  became  the  assistant  priest  of  Assumption  parish.  He 
-celebrated  his  first  mass  in  Evansville  Christmas  day,  1849.  He 
became  pastor  in  1S59,  when  Father  Deydier  retired  to  Highland, 
near  \'incennes,  where  he  died  February  11,   1864. 

The  church  property  on  Second  street,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Capt.  F.  P.  Carson,  was  sold  for  $50,000,  $5,000  of 
which  was  due  the  bishop  and  paid  to  him;  and  in  April,  1871.  the 
present  site  of  Assumption  church,  corner  Seventh  and  \'ine 
streets,  was  purchased.  Work  on  the  present  church  began  in 
1872,  and  on  the  7th  of  July  of  that  year  the  corner-stone  was  laid 
by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais.  \'ery  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor  was  the 
•orator.  Father  McDermott  built  the  church  on  the  grand  scale  in 
which  we  see  it.  He  labored  with  z-al  and  saintly  ardor  until 
1879,  when,  much  to  the  regret  of  his  parishioners,  he  was 
appointed  pastor  of  St.  •  Patrick's  church.  Indianapolis,  where  he 
■died  September  13,  18S2.  From  the  date  of  removal  of  Father 
McDermott  until  the  appointment  of  the  present  very  re\erend 
pastor,  about  five  months,  Rev.  John  Gueguen,  then  chaplain  of 
St.  Mary's  hospital,  had  charge  of  Assumption  church.  Very  Rev. 
Eugene  F.  McBarron  took  charge  November  7.  1879.  Under  his 
administration  we  can  take  a  more  favorable  view  of  the  parish 
grounds     and     buildings,    for    he    has   made    many   additions  and 

"(259) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

improvements.  Among  these  are  a  fine  hall  and  school-building, 
a  pastoral  residence,  the  repairing  and  frescoing  of  the  church  and 
the  purchase  of  twenty  feet  of  additional  ground.  These  repre- 
sent an  outlay  of  nearly  $20,000. 

The  parish  grounds  extend  200  feet  on  Seventh  street  and  i  50 
feet  on  Vine  street.  All  the  buildings  front  on  the  former  street. 
On  the  corner  stands  the  pastoral  residence,  a  tastefully  con- 
structed and  happily  arranged  house,  costing  upward  of  $4,000. 
About  the  center  of  the  grounds  stands  the  stately  and  massive 
Assumption  church,  which  cost  $73,000.  The  next  building  is  the 
Sisters'  house,  representing  $2,000;  and  lastly  the  Assumption 
hall  and  school  building,  which  is  worth  over  $7,000.  These 
buildings,  improvements,  grounds,  furniture  and  other  parish 
property  are  worth  the  large  sum  of  $123,000.  The  debt  is  only 
$13,000. 

Assumption  church  is  cruciform   and   of    Romanesque  style  of 
architecture.      It   is  sixty   feet  wide,  ninety   feet   in    the    transept, 
fifty-two  feet  to   ceiling  and    149   feet  long.      It   is   built   of    brick, 
with  stone  trimmings,  and  is  reputed   as  one  of   the    most  substan- 
tial and  beautiful  church   edifices  in    the   west.      Its   interior,  espe- 
cially since   it   has   been   frescoed   and   ornamented  with  a   grand 
thirty-light  candelabrum,  which  cost  $700,  reminds  the  artist  and 
the  man  of  travel  of  Roman  style,  Roman  richness  and  good  taste. 
This   obtains   as   well  in   the   architecture   as  in   the   frescoing  and 
decorations,  which  latter  are  kept  as  much  as  possible  in  the  same 
order.      The  exceptions  are  the  scattering  here  and  there  of  a  little 
of  the  more   modern,   just  enough  to  satisfy  the  taste  that  inclines 
to  brighter  coloring — the  semi-gay  as  distinct  from  the  grand.   The 
sanctuary  is   on  the   order   of    the   Carthusian   monaster   ,  the  Cer- 
tosa  of  Pavia,  which  is   the  best   sample  of    Italian  renaissance  in 
existence,  and  whose  cloister  is  the   only  one  in  the  world  that  has 
ever  been   decorated.      The  arches  of  the  side   altars   are   of  the 
Roman  style  of   the   thirteenth   century,    while   the    basso-relievo 
angels  are  kept  more  in  the  style  of  Michael  Angelo,  as  seen  at  St. 
Peter's.      The  ornaments   around    the   windows  are   designed  after 
fi 
the  ceiling  is  very 


fragments  in  the  church    of  St.  Maria  del   Popolo  in    Rome,  while 
the  ceilinsr  is  very  much  like  that  of  St.  Paul's  at  Rome  before  the 


(260) 


IX    THE    STATli    Ol'    INDIANA. 

licking  flames  destroyed  its  admirable  works  of  art.  Alto;:^ether, 
the  interior  of  the  church  of  the  Assumption,  as  it  now  stands 
fresh  from  the  artist's  brush,  cannot  fail  to  impress  all  beholders 
who  ha\e  seen  Rome  with  the  majestic  and  imposing  relics  of 
Italian  art  in  the  Eternal  cit\".  These  spectators  will  be  generous 
in  awarding  a  large  meed  of  praise  to  the  present  pastors  and  peo- 
ple of  Assumption  parish,  and  to  the  Lebor  Bros.,  of  Louisville. 
who  e.xecuted  the  work.  Kt.  Rev.  Bishop  Chatard.  whose  twenty 
years"  residence  amid  such  scenes  in  Rome,  has  made  him  a  con- 
noisseur of  art,  declares  in  favor  of  the  excellence  of  the  interior 
appearance  of  Assumption  church. 

The  Assumption  schools  consist  of  four  rooms,  with  an  enrol- 
ment of  about  240  pupils,  who  are  taught  by  four  Sisters  of  Provi- 
dence, who  live  in  the  adjoining  residence,  and  one  lay  teacher. 
The  building  is  of  brick;  is  44 x  84  feet,  two  stories,  with  thq  upper 
floor  in  use  as  the  Assumption  hall.  It  was  erected  in  1881.  The 
building  committee,  which  materially  aided  the  very  reverend 
pastor,  and  richly  deserved  the  thanks  of  the  congregation,  was 
composed  of  the  following  gentlemen:  Patrick  Raleigh,  M.  Gor- 
man. Joseph  Dillon  and  T.  W.  \^enemann. 

The  church  societies  are  as  follows  in  name:  Ladies'  Altar 
society.  Young  Ladies'  sodality  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Children  of 
Mar}-.  Boys'  St.  Joseph  societ}'.  St.  Joseph's  Aid  societ}'  for  Men; 
Branch  46,  of  the  Catholic  Knights,  composed  of  members  from 
the  Assumption  and  Holy  Trinity  parishes,  was  organized  in  1879 
by  Hon.  C.  J.  Murphy. 

Holy  Trinity  Parish,  at  Evansville.  was  not  regarded  as  a 
separate  congregation  until  1851.  when  the  new  church  of  that 
name  was  solemnly  blessed  in  the  presence  of  the  right  reverend 
bishop,  and  thereafter  used  exclusi\ely  by  the  German-speaking 
•Catholics.  Pre\iously,  Catholics  of  all  nationalities  attended  at  the 
Assumption  church.  For  several  years  separate  services  were  con- 
tinued to  be  held  there  for  the  Germans,  and  Rev.  Fathers  Charles 
Oppermann,  Martin  Stahl,  Conrad  Schneiderjans  and  Roman 
Weinzoepfel  succeeded  each  other  in  charge  of  the  Germans 
and  as  assistants  to  Father  Deydier.      The  first  resident  pastor  for 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  Germans  was  Rev.  Francis  X.  Kutassy,  who  arrived  in  1848. 
It  was  he  who  organized  Holy  Trinity  parish  and  built  the  church- 
In  the  work  of  building  the  new  church  he  was  ably  assisted 
by  the  following  gentlemen,  who  composed  his  first  building  com- 
mittee: B.  Nurre,  H.  Ahlerding,  H.  Hermann,  M.  Nies,  Fr.  Zie- 
genhagen  and  H.  Rechtin.  In  1849  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by 
Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  but  on  account  of  the  ravages  of  the  cholera 
the  work  was  not  completed  until  185 1.  In  1S55  a  parsonage 
was  built  at  a  cost  of  $1,500.  In  1866  Rev.  J.  Ferd.  Viefhaus 
was  sent  as  assistant  to  Father  Kutassy.  Stained  glass  windows 
were  put  in  in  1867  at  a  cost  of  $2,700.  In  1868  two  large  ves- 
try rooms  were  built  as  an  addition  to  the  church,  at  a  cost  of 
$3,000.  In  1873  the  front  of  the  church  was  built  newly,  and  a 
grand  tower  and  spire  erected.  The  edifice  was  then  of  these 
dimensions:  Length  147  feet,  width  seventy  feet,  height  to  ceil- 
ing thirty-five  feet.  The  spire  stands  202  feet.  In  the  tower  is  a 
chime  of  nine  bells,  which  cost  $5,000.  In  1S72  Rev.  Charles 
Loescher  became  the  assistant  priest,  Rev.  Father  Viefhaus  having 
undertaken  the  work  of  building  up  St.  Mary's  parish.  In  1873 
Rev.  James  Merckl  became  assistant.  On  the  iith  of  October, 
1874,  the  golden  jubilee  of  the  noble  pastor.  Rev.  F.  X.  Kutassy, 
was  celebrated  with  pomp,  and  as  a  sort  of  finish  to  his  labors,  for 
he  died  on  the  27th  of  that  month,  assisted  in  his  last  hours  by 
his  dear  friend.  Father  McDermott,  who  administered  to  him  the 
last  sacraments.  He  was  buried  in  the  new  St.  Joseph's  ceme- 
tery, the  first  priest  there  interred,  and  a  grand  monument  was 
erected  to  his  memory  in  1875.  Rev.  Father  Merckl  was  in 
charge  for  seven  months,  or  until  the  arrival  of  Rev.  P.  J.  J. 
Duddenhausen  as  pastor.  May  19,  1875,  to  whom  was  given  Rev. 
A.  Oster,  as  his  assistant,  in  July  of  that  year.  Father  Dudden- 
hausen  began  many  reforms  in  the  congregation,  adopted  business 
methods  and  celebrated  the  public  service  of  the  church  with  pomp 
and  solemnity.  He  was  given  Rev.  Wm.  Bultmann,  as  his  assist- 
ant, July,  1877,  and  in  1880  Father  F.-B.  Luebberman  became  his 
assistant,  taking  Father  Bultmann's  place,  that  reverend  gen- 
tleman having  undertaken  the  work  of  organizing  St.  Boniface's 
parish. 

(262) 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol'    INDIANA. 

Attention  was  paid  to  the  matter  of  education  as  early  as  i<S5i, 
when,  with  the  organization  of  Holy  Trinity  parish,  its  first  little 
brick  school-house  was  built.  In  185:;  the  Sisters  of  Providence 
came  to  teach  the  children  of  the  parish.  In  i86d  a  school  was 
built  especially  for  female  children,  and  in  1863  a  residence  was 
built  for  the  Sisters.  A  grand  clearing  out  of  all  the  old  buildings 
took  place  in  1869,  when  the  present  grand  school-building  was 
erected.  It  is  58  x  105  feet,  three  stories,  with  the  upper  floor 
used  a  hall.  The  pupils,  to  the  number  of  506,  are  taught  by 
four  Sisters  of  Providence  and  one  lay  teacher. 

Rev.  Father  Duddenhausen  died  in  1886,  and  was  buried  in 
St.  Joseph's  cemetery.  His  zeal  and  labors  were  great,  and  he 
was  mourned  by  his  congregation.  He  was  born  in  Prussia,  June 
15,  1842,  emigrated  to  the  United  States  September  20,  1863.  and 
was  ordained  priest  December  23,  1865.  He  was  pastor  at  Law- 
renceburg  from  October,  1870,  until  May,  1875,  when  he  became 
pastor  of  Holy  Trinity  parish,  Evansville.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  H.  John  Diestel,  who,  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  had 
been  the  pastor  of  St.  Philip's,  in  Posey  county.  He  became  pas- 
tor of  that  church  January  15,  1865,  made  many  improvements, 
including  the  building  of  a  new^  church,  and  left  the  congregation 
not  only  free  of  debt,  but  with  money  in  the  treasury. 

Father  Diestel  was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  October  7, 
1838.  Having  made  his  preparatory  studies,  he  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  1857,  and  entered  St.  Charles'  seminary  at  \in- 
cennes,  where  he  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais, 
December  21.  1864.  Father  Diestel  is  a  portly  man,  of  soldierly 
bearing,  a  fact  which  corresponds  with  his  having  ser\ed  in  the 
United  States  army.  In  the  pulpit  he  is  of  great  force,  and  is 
known  as  an  eloquent  and  earnest  preacher. 

Holy  Trinity  church,  thus  provided  for,  and  having  been 
recently  much  improved  and  renewed,  is  prominent  among  the 
Evansville  churches,  not  alone  on  this  account,  but  because  the 
congregation,  even  after  giving  up  200  families  to  the  new  St. 
Anthony's  parish,  is  yet  the  largest  in  Evansville,  having  over  400 
families,  or  nearly  3,000  souls  in  all.  Among  the  many  improve- 
ments, the  frescoing  of  the  church  must  be   especially  mentioned. 

~(263j- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITV 

It.is  tasteful  and  cheerful,  almost  approachin<i  the  j^a}',  and  has 
considerable  merit.  It  cost  $3,200.  The  parish  grounds  are  at 
the  corner  of  Third  and  Vine  streets,  and  are  i  50  .\  225  feet.  The 
parish  debt  is  $16,650.55  and  the  value  of  the  propert}'  is  over 
$125,000. 

St.  Mary's,  in  point  of  time,  is  the  third  of  the  Catholic  con- 
gregations formed  in  Evansville,  and  of  the  German-speaking  par- 
ishes it  is  the  second.  In  all  other  respects  it  is  worthy  of  equal 
consideration  with  the  best  and  most  flourishing  in  the  city.  It 
dates  back  to  1866,  the  year  of  the  appointment  of  its  present 
pastor  by  Bishop  de  Saint  Palais.  Its  territory  comprises  that 
portion  of  the  city  east  of  Main  street,  and  the  division  just  made 
in  the  erection  of  the  new  St.  Anthony's  parish  diminishes  by 
about  fifteen  its  270  families. 

The  first  work  done  by  the  pastor.  Rev.  John  Ferdinand  \'ief- 
haus,  after  the  purchase  of  the  present  site  of  the  parish  buildings, 
was  the  erection  of  a  two-story  brick  school-house  at  a  cost  of 
$5,000.  This  building  is  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Cherry  and 
Upper  Sixth  streets,  where,  on  the  former  street,  the  parish 
grounds  extend  240  feet,  by  145  feet  on  the  latter.  The  next  of 
the  parish  buildings  is  the  church,  a  brick  structure  of  imposing 
architecture  and  dimensions.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Bishop 
de  St.  Palais,  October  28,  1866.  Sixteen  priests  were  present, 
together  with  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  ^'ery  Rev.  Bede  O'Con- 
nor and  others  preached  on  the  occasion.  It  was  finished  Decem- 
ber, 1867,  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  on  the  third  Sun- 
day in  Advent,  and  was  used  for  the  first  time  January  i,  1868. 
It  is  Gothic  in  style,  and  its  dimensions  are  66  x  140  feet,  its  center 
ceiling  being  50  feet  high.  The  frescoing  is  tasteful,  the  altars 
elegant  and  in  keeping  with  the  style  of  architecture,  and  the 
organ,  too,  is  a  very  good  one.  The  spire,  surmounted  by  a 
golden  cross,  stands  175  feet,  and  in  the  tower  is  a  chime  of  three 
bells  that  are  noted  for  size  and  sweetness  of  tone.  St.  Mary's 
church,  including  pews,  altars,  bells,  organ,  etc.,  has  cost 
$60,000. 

The  next  building  in  order  is  the  pastoral  residence,  a  com- 

(264r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

modious  two-story  brick  structure  which  cost  $6,200.  It  was 
built  in  1.S81.  The  last  and  the  ne.xt  best  building  after  the 
church  is  the  girls'  school  and  the  Sisters'  house,  a  three-story 
brick  edifice.  45  .\  80  feet,  which  is  good  value  for  its  cost,  $14,000. 
It  v.'as  erected  in  1871,  and  about  400  pupils  are  taught  by  four 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis  and  one  lay  teacher. 

From  a  report  made  to  Bishop  Chatard,  in  18.S0,  by  the  then 
reverend  pastor,  it  appears  that  during  the  thirteen  years  from 
1867  to  1880  St.  Mary's  congregation  paid  out  for  improvements, 
interest,  salaries,  etc.,  the  very  large  sum  of ^152,000.  This  was 
a  most  e.xcellent  showing,  and  manifested  the  accord  with  which 
both  priest  and  people  labor  for  the  common  good  and  the 
the  advancement  of  religion  and  education.  Much  of  the  prop- 
erty was  bought  when  high  prices  obtained,  and  most  of  the  par- 
ish buildings  were  erected  under  such  circumstances;  the  property, 
taken  as  a  whole,  is  still  worth  the  high  cost  price,  shows  no  depre- 
ciation, and  is  cheap  at  the  low  estimate  of  $100,000.  The 
debt  is  only  $18,000,  and  the  number  of  souls  exceeds  1,800. 

The  societies  of  the  parish  are  numerous  and  prosperous,  the 
prominent  ones  being  St.  Joseph's  society  for  Married  Men,  St. 
Aloysius'  society  for  Young  Men,  the  sodality  and  society  for 
Young  Ladies,  the  St.  Mary's  society  for  Married  Ladies,  and  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis.  The  present  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  is 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Dickmann. 

St.  Boniface's  Parish,  of  Evansville,  is  the  fourth  parish  in  the 
order  of  time  and  the  third  of  the  German-speaking  Catholic  con- 
gregations in  Evansville  Its  territory  formerly  belonged  to 
Holy  Trinity  parish,  but  on  account  of  its  remoteness  and  the 
inconvenience  the  large  German  population  of  the  northwestern 
portion  of  the  city  were  subjected  to  by  having  to  attend  at  Holy 
Trinity  church.  Bishop  Chatard,  on  learning  the  situation,  created 
the  new  parish.  He  did  so  very  gladly,  chiefly  to  lighten  the  bur- 
dens of  the  people,  and  also  because  they  seemed  perfectly  able 
and  willing  to  take  care  of  their  own  material  interests. 

The  first  move  in  the  creation  of   St.  Boniface's  parish  was  a 
meeting    of    prominent     Catholic    Germans     at    the   residence   of 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Charles  Schulte,  on  Wabash  avenue,  October  20,  1878.  Beside 
Mr.  Schulte,  who  was  the  prime  mover,  there  were  present  at  the 
meeting  Henry  Riteman,  Adam  Helfrich,  John  T.  Rechtin  and 
Aug.  Rosenberger.  A  letter  setting  forth  the  facts  was  sent  to  the 
bishop,  and  block  63,  on  Wabash  avenue,  400x250  feet,  and 
worth  $10,000,  was  purchased  for  $5,000,  as  the  site  of  the  parish 
buildings.  With  this  the  matter  rested  until  November,  1879, 
when  Charles  Schulte  and  J.  Theo.  Rechtin  called  upon  the  bishop 
and  urged  the  creation  of  the  proposed  parish.  On  January  4, 
1880,  Bishop  Chatard  visited  Evansville,  received  the  deed  to  the 
property  from  the  gentlemen  named,  created  the  St.  Boniface's 
parish,  and  appointed  as  its  pastor  Rev.  \\^n.  Bultmann,  who  lived 
for  one  year  at  the  home  of  Charles  Schulte  without  cost  to  the 
congregation.  Father  Bultmann  had  been  the  assistant  priest  at 
Holy  Trinity  church.  At  the  meeting  of  interested  Catholics  where 
these  things  were  done,  $10,000  were  promptly  pledged  in  support 
of  the  new  parish.  Work  was  begun  on  the  temporar}'  frame 
church  February  i  of  that  year,  and  on  the  following  Sunday, 
February  6,  high  mass  and  vespers  were  sung  in  the  same,  to  the 
delight  of  the  people.  Miss  Mattie  Raleigh  played  the  organ. 
After  two  months  an  addition  had  to  be  made  so  as  to  accommo- 
date the  people;  and  this  wooden  structure,  36.\  1 12  feet  in  dimen- 
sions, less  than  a  year  later  had  to  give  way  to  the  present  grand 
edifice. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  present  St.  I-5oniface's  church  was  laid 
with  imposing  ceremonies  September  4,  i88i,  by  Rev.  Roman 
Weinzoepfel.  Father  Duddenhausen  preached.  All  the  Catho- 
lics of  Evansville  were  out  in  their  thousands,  and  the  day  was  a 
memorable  one.  The  work  on  the  new  church  was  pushed  so 
rapidly  that  the  sacred  edifice  was  dedicated  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop,  April  27,  of  the  following  year.  Rev.  J.  Ferd.  Viefhaus, 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  church,  delivered  the  dedicatory  sermon.  On 
the  occasion  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  was  the  guest  of  Mrs.  Charles 
Schulte.  The  church  presents  one  of  the  grandest  and  most 
imposing  front  views  of  any  other  church  edifice  in  Indiana.  It  is 
seventy  feet  wide  by  147  feet  long,  and  its^'two  spires  stand  202  feet. 
In  its  towers  are  three  bells  weighing  3,700  pounds.    Two  of  these 

(266) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

were  donated.  A  new  corruj;ated  iron  ccilin;^  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  plastered  ceilinj;  and  is  richly  frescoed.  The  woodwork  and 
furniture  are  grand,  e.xcellinj;  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  state. 

This  enterprising  parish  continued  its  improvements,  for  in 
1885  it  erected  a  splendid  school-building  at  a  cost  of  $10,000. 
The  first  frame  school  was  built  by  Adam  Helfrich,  and  its  use 
donated  by  him  for  a  year,  fn  the  beginning  the  number  of  school- 
children did  not  exceed  fifty,  but  at  this  writing  267  are  in  attend- 
ance. From  a  small  structure  of  only  three  rooms,  18x24  feet 
each,  in  1881,  the  school  accommodations  have  been  enlarged 
and  improved,  and  the  present  beautiful  school-building  contains 
six  rooms,  each  24x36  feet,  with  spacious  halls  and  an  imposing 
exterior.  Six  Ursuline  Sisters  from  Louisville  are  in  charge. 
Bishop  Chatard  dedicated  the  school-building  in  December,   1885, 

Rev.  Father  Bultmann,  having  the  greatest  faith  in  the  use- 
fulness of  church  societies,  organized  them  the  very  first  Sunday 
on  which  mass  was  celebrated  in  the  new  parish,  February  6, 
1881.  These  societies  are:  St.  Ann's  society  for  Married  Ladies, 
St.  Mary's  sodality  for  young  lady  members;  St.  Boniface's 
Men's  society,  and  St.  Aloysius  society  for  Young  Men.  Besides 
these,  the  Catholic  Knights,  Branch  511,  began  with  forty-six  mem- 
bers, but  is  more  than  double  that  number  at  present.  Not  includ- 
ing a  pastoral  residence,  the  value  of  improvements  and  grounds  of 
St.  Boniface's  parish  is  nearly  $100,000.  This  estimate  is  based 
upon  the  following  figures:  The  church  cost  $68,000,  the  school 
$10,000,  the  grounds,  worth  $10,000,  cost  only  $5,000.  Allowing 
for  increase  in  value  of  real  estate,  and  not  including  furniture, 
statues,  etc.,  the  large  sum  of  $100,000  is  almost  accounted  for. 
If  we  subtract  the  amount  of  indebtedness  ($43,000)  from  the 
above  sum,  it  will  be  seen  that  for  each  of  the  seven  years  of  its 
existence  this  plucky  and  enterprising  congregation  has  contributed 
nearly  $10,000.  What  the  future  will  be  depends  upon  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  energy,  harmony  and  zeal  which  have  obtained  in 
St.  Boniface's  parish  from  the  beginning.  The  people  are  gener- 
ous, and  take  a  just  pride  in  their  parish  and  its  institutions,  while 
their  pastor  is  devoted,  laborious  and  lovable.  The  present  pastor 
is  the  Rev.    L.  M.    S.  Burkhardt. 

~{m) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Sacred  Heart  Parish  is  the  fifth  organized   in  Evansville  and 
the   second    of    the    English-speaking   congregations.       Within    its 
present  hmits  there  were  found    fifty  famihes  in  1885,  for  whom  it 
was    a   great   hardship   to    be    obHged    to    attend    the    Assumption 
church,  situated  more  than  a  mile  distant.      On  learning  the   facts 
the  right  reverend  bishop   consented    to   the  building  of  a   church 
for  these    people,  which  would  be,  until   further  notice,   a  sort   of 
chapel  of  ease  to  Assumption  church.      Very   Rev.  E.  ¥.  McBar- 
ron  and   Rev.    P.  H.  Rowan,    pastors  of  Assumption  parish,  began 
the  good  work  in  June,   1885.      During  their  tour  collecting  funds 
for  the  new  church  they  were  cordially  received  by  all  the  people, 
who   manifested   a  very  generous  spirit.      John   A.  Reitz,  a  prom- 
inent,   wealthy   citizen    of    another   parish,    donated    not   only   the 
ground,  75  x  150  feet,  but   also   the    church    building,  32  x  85  feet, 
the  construction  of  which  he  personally  superintended.      He  made 
another    donation,   March    20,    1888,    of   ground    for  the   proposed 
Sacred    Heart    school,    instructing   the   pastor,    Rev.    P.    R.    Fitz- 
patrick,  to  go   on  with  the  work  and  call   upon  him  for  the  money. 
Rev.  P.  R.   Fitzpatrick  took  charge  of  the   Sacred  Heart  par- 
ish December  4,   1887,  and  its  independence  dates  from  that  time. 
The  church  was  dedicated  November   15,   1885.      The  dedicatory 
-ceremonies,  in  strict  conformity  with  the  ritual  of  our  Holy  church, 
■were  performed  with  due  solemnity.      The  Rev.  Father  McBarron 
blessed  the  new  edifice,  and   immediately  after  celebrated  the  first 
imass  in  the  neat  and  elegant  Sacred  Heart  church.      The  reverend 
clergy  of   Evansville   assisted    at  the  mass,  in  the  sanctuary.      The 
sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Father  Bultmann.      While  the  new 
church  was  in  course  of  erection  the   Rev.  Fathers  McBarron  and 
Rowan  visited  the  various  families  of  the  newly  organized  parish 
and  solicited  subscriptions  for  the  (interior)  equipment  of  the  church. 
Their  appeal  to  the  people  was  not   in   vain,  for  each   family  con- 
tributed so  generously  that  to-day  the  new  church  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  is  without  a   cent  of  debt.      Of  course,  the    attainment  of 
such  a   happy  result   is  attributable   to  the   zealous  efforts  of  the 
reverend  Fathers,  to  the  munificence  of  John   A.  Reitz  and  to  the 
generous  contributions   of    the   parishioners.      The  sacred  vessels 
and    vestments    were    donated    by    members    of    the    Assumption 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol-    INDIANA. 

church.  The  names  of  the  donors  and  the  articles  donated  are  as 
follows:  A  beautiful  chalice  was  donated  by  William  Hu^^hes;  an 
elegant  ciborium  by  |ohn  Nolan ;  a  handsome  ostensorium  was 
given  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Yaeger;  the  vestments  were 
donated  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Gorman;  a  large-sized  picture 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  was  given  by  Mrs.  James  Crosby;  a  beauti- 
ful stole  was  given  b}'  Miss  Clara' Reis.  Toward  the  purchase  of 
a  new  altar  the  following  ])ersons  contributed:  Edward  White, 
$25;  Mrs.  A.  Reis,  $25;  Mrs.  Sarah  Shea,  $5.  A  number  of  other 
persons  contributed  their  mite  toward  this  worthy  object. 

The  holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass  is  celebrated  in  the  Sacred 
Heart  church  every  Sunday  and  holy  day  at  8:30  a.  m.  At  2:30- 
1'.  M.  every  Sunday  catechetical  instruction  and  recitation  of  the 
rosary.  The  Catholics  of  the  new  parish  are  enthusiastic  over 
the  spiritual  work  which  has  been  inaugurated  in  their  midst,  and 
are  making  every  just  effort  to  assist  the  reverend  Fathers  in  mak- 
ing the  new  congregation  flourish,  and  in  causing  it,  too,  to  verify 
the  parable  of  the  mustard  seed. 

Rev.  P.  R.  Fitzpatrick,  pastor  of  the  Sacred  Heart  church  at 
Evansville,  is  a  native  of  Ireland  and  was  born  in  county  Carlow 
in  1843.  He  was  educated  for  the  priesthood  in  his  native  coun- 
try, but  when  quite  a  youth  came  to  the  United  States,  and  was 
ordained  priest  at  Vincennes  December  21,  1864.  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  Maurice  de  St.  Palais.  He  celebrated  his  first  mass 
at  Madison,  in  which  city  he  remained  a  short  time  at  the  request 
of  his  intimate  friend,  the  \  ery  Rev.  Father  Duponta\ice,  to  aid 
him  in  making  an  addition  to  the  church  and  in  erecting  its  spire. 
He  was  then  assigned  to  \'evay,  Switzerland  county,  where  he 
zealously  and  effectively  labored  in  arousing  the  people  to  an 
interest  in  the  progress  of  the  church,  and  was  ne.xt  sent,  Jul\-  6, 
1866,  to  Indianapolis,  as  an  assistant  to  the  Right  Rev.  Mgr. 
Bessonies,  who  was  then  engaged  in  building  the  present  St. 
John's  church.  Father  Fitzpatrick  proved  to  be  an  active  and 
valuable  assistant  to  Mgr.  Bessonies,  and  did  much  to  aid  him  in 
improving  both  the  spiritual  and  temporal  condition  of  his  congre- 
gation. 

In  1869,  Father  Fitzpatrick  was  placed  in  charge   of    what   is 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

now  known  as  St.  Patrick's  parish  in  Indianapolis,  where  he  built 
the  beautiful  church-edifice  of  the  same  name,  which  he  completed 
in  1871.  During  his  sixteen  years'  incumbency  of  this  pastorate 
Father  Fitzpatrick  was  untiring  in  his  exertions  for  the  promotion 
of  the  welfare  of  the  parish,  and  since  his  appointment  to  the 
church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at  Evansville  his  ardor  and  industry 
have  in  no  manner  been  relaxed.  To  quote  M.  W.  Carr,  the  able 
writer  and  accomplished  publisher  of  many  pamphlets  touching 
the  history  of  Catholicity  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  the  following 
paragraph  may  be  here  added  with  indisputable  propriety: 

In  every  place,  and  under  every  circumstance,  he  has  shown 
himself  to  be  a  true  son  of  Erin,  and  a  devoted  priest  who  would 
give  his  life  for  his  faith.  He  has  a  warm  nature,  a  generous  heart, 
and  a  bright,  well-stored  mind.  For  these  reasons,  and  also 
because  of  his  honesty  of  purpose  and  out-spokenness,  he  is  admired 
and  much  beloved  by  the  thousands  who  know  him  in  Indiana. 
To  hear  him  from  the  pulpit  is  to  be  reminded  of  other  times,  and 
to  be  of  his  auditors  while  he  is  on  the  lecture  platform  is  to  feel  more 
than  you  can  make  manifest  by  applause  or  rapt  silence.  The 
people  of  Evansville  experienced  this  on  the  evening  of  March  18, 
1888,  last,  when,  in  Assumption  hall,  he  lectured  on  "  The  Mission 
of  the  Irish  People,  "  before  one  of  the  largest  audiences  that  has 
assembled  in  the  city  for  many  years.  Father  Fitzpatrick  is  a 
scholarly  priest,  and  a  most  hospitable  and  genial  gentleman. 
Under  his  guidance  the  new  Sacred  Heart  parish  will  grow  in  both 
moral  and  material  prosperity. 

St.  Anthony's  Church,  at  Evansxille,  Ind.,  dates  its  history 
from  ihe  year  1885,  when  the  Right  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard, 
fifth. and  present  bishop  of  Evansville,  was  presented,  by  Mrs. 
Magdalena  Reis,  with  a  lot  14OX  250  feet,  with  the  stipulation  that 
a  church  edifice  be  erected  upon  the  ground.  In  1888  the  bishop 
was  petitioned,  by  about  i  50  families,  for  permission  to  organize  a 
congregation,  and  for  the  presence  of  a  priest  for  that  purpose.  In 
April  of  the  same  year.  Rev.  Joseph  Schuck  was  appointed;  he 
called  a  meeting  of  residents — the  prospective  parishioners — the 
congregation  was  duly  formed,  and  Rev.  Johann  Diestel  installed 
as  pastor.  A  building  committee,  composed  of  Edward  Juergen- 
meier,    j.    H.    Borgman,    Bernhardt   Kluck,    Franz   Moers,    Ernest 

(270r 


IX    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Hoffman  and  Joseph  Kaelin,  was  appointed,  and  the  work  of  col- 
lection of  subscriptions  begun  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  for 
the  erection  of  a  school- house,  which  should  also  be  used  for 
church  services.  Father  Schuck,  however,  was  taken  ill,  and  in 
May  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Kaspar  Seiler,  and  the  work  vigor- 
ously continued.  Building  plans  were  drawn  up,  were  presented 
to  and  approved  by  the  bishop,  and  the  contract  for  the  erection 
of  the  structure  was  awarded  to  Edward  Juergenmeier  the  cost 
to  be  $8,480.  During  the  interval  from  June  17,  1888,  when  the 
corner-stone  of  the  building  was  laid,  until  its  completion,  in 
October,  services  were  held  in  the  upper  story  of  the  dwelling  of 
Mrs.  Reis,  where  the  first  mass  had  been  read  on  the  i  3th,  on  St. 
Anthony's  day.  In  this  dwelling,  also,  rooms  were  provided  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  pastor  until  the  completion  of  the  par- 
sonage. 

Bishop  Chatard  officiated  at  the  laying"  of  the  corner-stone, 
and  the  first  services  were  held  in  the  new  building  November  4, 
1888,  and  the  church  dedicated  June  17,  1889,  by  the  Right  Rev. 
Abbot  Fintan  Mundtweiler,  of  St.  Meinrad,  Ind.  The  contribu- 
tions to  the  erection  of  the  building  had  amounted  to  nearly 
$7,400,  and  at  the  first  service,  se\enty-two  pews,  or  seats,  were 
rented  for  one  year,  which  netted  $1,510,  and  still  there  remained 
an  indebtedness  of  $3,  103.  At  the  opening  of  the  school,  in 
October,  1888,  there  were  iio  children  present,  and  the  school 
placed  in  charge  of  the  Franciscan  Sisters  of  Oldenburg,  Ind. 
There  were  then  only  two  classes,  but  in  a  few  months  the  num- 
ber had  increased  to  165,  and  a  third  class  was  formed;  in  Sep- 
tember, 1892,  was  a  fourth  class  added,  and  in  the  spring  of  1896 
a  fifth. 

In  March,  1889.  the  good  Sisters  of  Oldenburg  purchased  a 
piece  of  property  opposite  the  original  school  and  church-building 
for  $2,400,  and  on  this  lot  now  stands  the  present  handsome 
school-building  and  the  residence  of  the  Sisters,  which  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $10,000. 

In  the  spring  of  1889,  the  parsonage  was  completed,  and, 
with  the  necessary  furniture,  cost  $3,000.  The  increase  in  the 
congregation  had  now  made  it  plain  that   a   new  church-building 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

was  a  necessity,  and  steps  were  taken  for  its  erection.  Plans  were 
prepared  by  Rev.  Brother  Adrian,  an  accomplished  architect  of  the 
St.  Louis  Franciscan  province,  and  came  to  hand  in  August,  1893. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Very  Rev.  A.  Scheideler,  vicar-gen- 
eral of  Indianapolis,  in  May,  1894,  the  stone  contract  having  been 
awarded  to  Anton  &  Philip  Kessler,  for  $4,000,  and  the  contract 
for  the  brick  work  to  Hoffman  Bros.,  for  $26,439.  The  edifice 
was  under  roof  in  the  early  fall,  and  October  20,  1895,  the  con- 
gregation took  possession.  The  dedication  was  postponed  until 
spring,  and  in  the  meantime  the  altar  had  been  put  in  place  and 
the  interior  decorations  finished.  By  November  17,  the  seats  in 
the  new  church  had  been  rented  for  $2,800,  and  May  25.  1S96, 
the  church  and  its  furnishings  were  consecrated  by  Bishop  F.  S. 
Chatard,  assisted  by  the  bishops  from  Belleville,  111.,  and  Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

St.  Anthony's  measures  63x165  feet,  with  two  towers,  each 
150  feet  high,  the  interior  formed  of  three  naves,  and  the  fresco 
work  was  done  by  \V.  Kloer,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  \V.  T.  Feld, 
of  Chicago,  111.,  at  a  cost  of  $3,400;  the  richly-pictured  cyclus  is 
from  Zettler,  of  Munich,  and  represents  some  of  the  principal 
events  in  the  life  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  and  that  of  her  Son. 
The  following  statistical  information  in  regard  to  St.  Anthony's 
congregation  will  be  found  interesting:  Cost  of  temporary  church 
and  school-building  with  furniture,  $13,000;  parsonage  and  furni- 
ture, $3,000;  new  church  (without  bells  or  organ),  $45,000;  total, 
$61,000.  Subscription  for  the  new  church,  $17,000;  donations  for 
windows,  etc.,  $3,000;  collections  of  money  in  other  Catholic 
churches  in  Evansville,  $1,500;  money,  which  was  collected 
before  and  during  the  building  of  the  church,  through  rents  of 
seats,  etc.,  $15,000;  total,  $36,500.  Number  of  schools  is  five; 
number  of  scholars,  433;  number  of  families,  350;  Men's  society 
of  St.  Anthony,  ninety-five;  Ladies' society  of  St.  Anna,  140;  \'ir- 
gins  of  St.  Agnes  society,  seventy;  St.  Stanislaus  Young  Men's 
society,  thirty;  Virgins'  sodalities  of  Maria,  sixty-five;  Knights  of 
St.  John,  thirty;  Catholic  Knights,  eighty;  Catholic  I\nights' 
Benefit  society,  fifty;  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,   100. 


(272) 


IX    THE    ^TATE    OI'    INDIANA. 


FEKDIXANl),    DUliOlS  COrXTV 


St.  I'erdinaiurs  Church. — The  \illage  of  Ferdinand,  Dubois- 
county,  Ind.,  will  number  at  present  about  8oo  souls,  and  is  one 
of  the  largest  congregations  of  which  the  Benedictines  have  charge 
of  in  the  diocese  of  \'incennes. 

Rev.  Ulrich  Christen  and  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor  arrived  and 
established  themselves  here  in  1853,  and  in  1854  they  had  a  stone 
church  erected;  a  Hne  organ  was  placed  in  it  in  1857,  when  Father 
Ulrich  was  called  to  St.  Meinrad;  in  1858.  Father  Isidor  assumed 
charge  of  the  congregation,  numbering  400  families,  attending, 
also,  Mariahill  until  April.  1861.  During  his  tihie,  in  1858.  the 
main  altar  was  erected;  and  in  1859  the  two  side  altars  were  put 
in  place;  in  i860  a  new  bell  was  procured,  and  oil  paintings  for 
the  altars  arrived  in  1861.  Father  Fintan  was  pastor  during 
April  and  May,  of  1861;  Father  Chrysostome  from  May  12,  1861, 
to  1 87 1.  Father  Chrysostome  was  called  to  Terre  Haute,  how- 
ever, to  relieve  Father  Bede.  and  Father  Wolfgang  had  charge  of 
Ferdinand  from  June  5,  1864.  to  February  22,  1865,  and  Father 
Isidor  until  Father  Chrysostome's  return.  March  19.  1865.  In 
1868  the  congregation  numbered  2,000  souls,  and  350  children  at 
school.  Father  Henry,  in  November,  1868,  was  sent  to  assist 
the  resident  pastor. 

Rev.  Eberhard  Stadler  was  given  charge  in  1871.  He  had, 
as  his  assistants,  respectively.  Revs.  Maurus  to  1S76,  Conrad 
Placidus,  Maurus,  Boniface  and  Puis.  On  June  19,  1870.  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishop  Luers,  of  Fort  Wayne,  solemnly  dedicated  St.  Ferdi- 
nand's church,  Father  O'Connor  preaching  the  sermon.  Father 
Prior  Martin  was  assistant  priest;  Fathers  Wolfgang  and  Fintan, 
deacons  of  honor;  Revs.  Benno  and  Boniface,  deacons  of  the  mass; 
Father  Isidor,  master  of  ceremonies;  Father  Chrysostome  and 
Father  Benedict,  chanters.  Father  Eberhard  was  absent  at  St. 
Mary's,  in  Indianapolis,  from  November  13,  1873,  until  August  i, 
1874.  His  assistant.  Father  Maurus,  had  charge  during  that  time, 
assisted  on  Sundays  and  festival  days  by  Father  Wolfgang.  Janu- 
ary 23,  1876,  Abbot  Martin  blessed  the  chapel  of  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin; June  3,   1S76,  the  cemetery,  much  enlarged,  was  blessed,  and 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  corner-stone  for  the  chapel  of  the  Seven  Dolors  was  laid  by 
Abbot  Martin,  and  blessed  by  Father  Prior  Fintan,  March  23, 
1877.  The  value  of  the  church  property  reaches  $73,300.  The 
number  of  families  in  the  parish  will  number  370,  and  the  church 
attendance  reaches  1,800. 

Floyd's  knobs,    floyd  county. 

St.  Mary's  Church  of  the  Assumption. — This  parish  is  possi- 
bly the  second  oldest  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  mass  was  said 
several  years  in  the  homes  of  the  settlers,  ere  a  log  church  was 
erected. 

Father  Ne3'ron  was  among  the  first  pioneer  priests  who 
administered  to  the  parishioners,  which  was  about  1833.  Fathers 
Badin,  Able  and  Reynolds  were  also  among  the  earliest  priests  in 
the  parish.  The  first  edifice  erected  was  of  logs  and  remained 
standing  until  about  1837.  The  first  land  which  was  donated  to 
to  the  parish  was  given  by  Thomas  Piers,  faj:her  of  the  well-known 
Bartholomew  Piers,  who  was  priest  at  St.  Peter's,  Daviess  county, 
Ind.,  for  forty-seven  years.  He  gave  one  acre  of  ground  and 
the  church  which  was  built  by  the  people.  The  following  roster 
of  priests  is  given  the  historian  by  Messrs.  James  Burns,  F.  A. 
Receveur,  and  Adolphus  Banet:  Resident  parishioners — Fathers 
Neyron,  Bessonies  and  William  Doyle,  Rincas  and  Gueguen,  who 
built  the  first  priest's  home;  G.  M.  Ginnsz,  Father  Stremler 
(who  enlarged  the  priest's  home).  Father  Strieker  (who  built  the 
home  of  the  Benedictine  Sisters),  and  Father  Hillebrand,  the  pres- 
ent pastor.  The  present  church  was  erected  in  1837.  The  ground, 
seven  acres,  was  given  by  Michael  Ouencez  and  Patrick  Byrne, 
who  gave  three  and  one-half  acres  each.  This  land  includes  the 
premises  of  the  priest's  home  and  the  cemetery,  and  was  donated  in 
1837.      The  fair  cash  value  of  the  parish  property  is  about  $7,500. 

fort    WAVNF,     ALLEN    COUNTY. 

Cathedral  ol  the  Immaculate  Conception. — The  first  Catholic 
house  of  worship  at  F"ort  Wayne,  Ind.,  was  a  small,  frame 
M'eather-boarded  shanty,  erected  in  1837  on  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent imposing  cathedral-edifice,  and  was  known  as  St.  Augustine's 

<274r 


IX    THE    STATi:    Ol"    INDIANA. 

church.  In  1S57  the  diocese  of  N'incennes.  which  up  to  that  time 
had  included  the  whole  state  oi  Indiana,  was  divided,  and  the 
northern  part  of  the  state  erected  as  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne, 
with  the  city  of  the  same  name  as  the  episcopal  see,  and  with 
the  Right  Rev.  J.  H.  Luers  as  first  bishop.  In  1859.  when  prep- 
arations were  made  for  the  erection  of  the  present  cathedral, 
the  original  frame  church  was  removed  to  the  east  side  of  the 
cathedral  square,  facing  on  Clinton  street,  but  a  short  time  after- 
ward was  destroyed  by  fire,  supposedly  the  \\'ork  of  an  incendiary. 

Bishop  Luers  and  the  Rev.  J.  Benoit  began  the  erection  of 
the  new  cathedral,  in  the  year  last  mentioned,  aided  b\"  Henry 
Baker.  Michael  Hedekin,  Maurice  Cody  and  Jacob  Kintz  as  a 
building  committee.  The  cost  of  the  building  proper  was  about 
$54,000,  while  the  organ,  pews  and  other  furniture  cost  over 
$9,000  extra.  Of  this  amount  about  $14,000  resulted  from  col- 
lections or  subscriptions  in  Fort  Wayne,  and  $2,000  from  a  fair 
or  bazaar.  The  balance  was  collected  by  Father  Benoit  while 
on  a  visit  to  New  Orleans  in  i860,  or  realized  from  other  sources, 
including  his  private  purse,  and  the  entire  cost  full}'  met.  The 
architect  of  this  magnificent  building  was  Thomas  Lau,  who  also 
held  the  contract  for  the  carpenter  work,  while  the  brick  work 
was  done  by  James  Silver.  The  episcopal  residence  was  erected 
by  Father  Benoit  at  a  cost  of  $16,000,  which  he  paid  from  his 
own  resources,  with  the  exception  of  $2,000,  which  was  paid  by 
the  diocese. 

Right  Rev.  Bishop  Luers  passed  away  in  June  1871,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger  April  14,  1872,  and 
at  his  death,  January  22,  1893,  was  succeeded  by  the  present  emi- 
nent priest,  Joseph  Rademacher,  D.  D..  who  was  transferred  to 
the  bishopric  of  Fort  Wayne  by  pontifical  letters,  dated  July  14, 
1893.  Father  Benoit  remained  pastor  of  the  cathedral  for  several 
years  under  Bishop  Dwenger,  but  on  account  of  increasing  age 
relinquished  his  charge.  Among  other  pastors  who  have  of^ciated 
at  the  cathedral  may  be  mentioned  the  Revs.  E.  P.  \\'alters,  J. 
H.  Brammer,  A.  M.  Meili,  W.  F.  M.  ORourke,  J.  M.  Graham, 
M.  E.  Campion,  J.  Grogan.  P.  M.  Frawley.  J.  R.  Dinnen.  J.  M. 
Hartnett,  L.  A.  Moench,  H.  A.  Boeckelmann,  P.  F.  Roach,  J.  F. 

1275) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Lang,  T.  M.  O'Leaiy,  J.  1'.  Delaney,  M.  J.  Byrne,  the  present 
clergymen  being  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher.  bishap  of  the 
diocese;  \'ery  Rev.  J.  H.  Brainmer,  vicar-general;  Rev.  Charles 
B.  Guendling,  secretary;  Rev.  F.  Koerdt,  defensor  matrimonii; 
Rev.  J.  H.  Bathe,  procurator  fiscalis,  and  Revs.  Frederick  Dan- 
durand  and  John  Durham,  assistant  pastors. 

The  school  for  boys  attached  to  the  cathedral  is  attended  by 
381  pupils,  under  the  supervision  of  eight  Brothers  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  with  Rev.  John  Durham  as  reverend  director,  and  the 
school  for  girls,  connected  with  St.  Augustine's  academy,  is 
attended  by  401  pupils,  with  eighteen  teachers  and  Rev.  Frederick 
Dandurand  as  reverend  director. 

The  Mother  of  God  Church  was  founded  in  1848,  when  thirty 
German  families,  who  hitherto  had  attended  St.  Augustine's 
church,  manifested  a  desire  to  build  a  house  of  worship  wherein 
they  could  have  the  gospel  preached  in  their  own  language,  and 
accordingly  purchased  a  few  lots  at  the  present  intersection  of 
Lafa\'ette  and  Jefferson  streets,  for  $1,700.  To  secure  the  pay- 
ment of  this  money  Bernard  Meyer,  Nicholas  Jostvert.  Henry  and 
Lucas  Hoevel,  and  Bernard  Voors  gave  a  mortgage  on  their  farms. 
The  first  church  council  consisted  of  Rev.  E.  Faller,  Joseph  Som- 
mers,  B.  Rekers,  Martin  Noll,  G.  Fox  and  H.  Englert;  the  build- 
ing committee  was  Father  Faller,  B.  Rekers,  Lorentz  Meyer, 
Ulrich  Rehne,  Herman  Englert  and  Joseph  Sommers.  Lorentz 
Meyer  dug  the  hrst  earth  for  the  foundation  of  the  new  brick 
church,  which  at  present  serves  as  a  girl's  school.  The  dimensions 
of  the  building  were  32x64  feet.  In  Auijust  of  the  same  year  the 
cholera  interrupted  the  progress  of  the  work,  but  the  church  was 
brought  to  completion  in  November,  and  on  the  29th  of  the  month 
these  thirty  families  moved  in  procession  from  St.  Augustine's 
church  to  take  possession  of  the  new  building.  Rev.  F.  X. 
Weninger,  the  zealous  missionar\-,  since  then  gone  to  his  reward, 
who  had  been  preaching  a  mission  to  the  German  Catholics  for  a 
week  previous,  conducted  the  solemn  entry  into  the  church  and 
dedicated  it  to  the  services  of  God  under  the  tutelage  and  title  of 
"The  Mother  of  God  Church.  "      E.  Faller,  who  became  the  pas- 

(-276) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

tor  of  the  new  church,  took  part  in  the  dedicatory  services.  A 
small  one-story  frame  house  was  erected  to  serve  as  a  pastoral 
residence,  and  the  school-house  that  had  served  the  Germans  was 
moved  from  Calhoun  street  one  year  after  opening  the  new  church, 
and  placed  in  the  rear  of  the  pastoral  residence. 

In  1850  Bishop  de  Saint  Palais,  of  Vincennes,  visited  the 
parish,  administered  confirmation,  and  gave  the  church  $500. 
The  little  edifice  served  its  purpose  from  1849  for  ten  years,  but  in 
1858  a  subscription  was  started  for  the  erection  of  a  more  com- 
modious church.  The  plans  were  made  by  Thomas  Lau,  to  whom 
the  contracts  for  brick  work  were  let;  for  the  plastering,  to  N. 
Meyer  and  N.  Alter;  for  the  wood  work,  to  Thomas  Lau,  except 
the  inside  wood  finish,  which  was  done  by  Herman  Wilkins, 
George  Link  and  Henry  Pranger.  The  bricks  were  purchased  from 
Samuel  Lillie  at  $4.  per  1,000.  The  sand  was  donated  by  Edward 
Smith.  B.  H.  Schnieders,  who  owned  one  horse,  succeeded  in 
borrowing  another,  and  placed  the  service  of  the  team  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  building  committee  during  the  summer.  Another 
team,  belonging  to  B.  Trentman,  another  to  Lorentz  Meyer,  and 
another  to  Joseph  Zitnmerman.  were  kept  busy  during  the  season. 
The  building  committee  of  the  new  church  was  B.  Trentman,  H. 
Nierman,  John  Trentman,  M.  Xoll  and  B.  H.  Schnieders,  under 
the  administration  of  Rev.  E.  Faller,  but  he  was  shortly  after- 
ward transferred  to  New  Albany,  and  was  succeeded  b\-  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Weutz,  in  1857. 

In  1857  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne  was  established,  and  Rt. 
Rev.  J.  H.  Luers,  the  first  bishop,  arrived  here  in  January,  1858. 
He  laid  the  corner-stone  of  this  new  church  in  the  summer  of  the 
same  year,  and  preached  to  the  assembled  multitude.  Another 
sermon,  in  German,  was  preached  by  a  Rev.  Mr.  Snyder,  of  Hesse 
Cassel.  In  1859,  on  the  second  Sunday  of  November,  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Luers  dedicated  the  new  church  under  the  title  given  its 
predecessor  in  1848.  Henry  Monning  traveled  over  the  country 
with  Rev.  J.  Weutz,  soliciting  contributions  to  pa}'  for  the  struc- 
ture, which  had  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  $30,000,  and  upon  which 
a  heavy  debt  remained  for  many  years.  In  1871.  during  the 
absence  of   Rev.  J.  \\'eutz,  who  had  gone  to  Europe  on  a  visit. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Rev.  F.  Von  Schwedler  had  charge,  and  in  the  meantime  com- 
pleted the  spire.  The  assistant  priests  to  Father  Weutz  were,  in 
turn,  Revs.  A.  Heitmann,  A.  Young  and  B.  T.  Borg. 

In  1872  Rev.  J.  Weuti:  resigned  the  pastorate  of  this^church 
and  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Dvvenger,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  see  of 
Fort  Wayne  upon  the  death  of   Bishop  Luers,  appointed  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Rademacher  to  take  charge,  with  Rev.  Charles  Steurer  as 
his  assistant.      After  some  seven  years  in  this  pastorate.  Rev.  Rade- 
macher was  transferred  to  LaFayette,  and  a  few  years  afterward 
became  bishop   of  Nashville,  Tenn.      Rev.  J.  H.    Oechtering  w^s 
appointed  to  take  charge  of   the   Mother  of   God    church  July  14, 
1880.      His  assistants  were  successively  Revs.  C.  Steurer,  C.  Gan- 
ser,  L.  A.  Moench,  C.  M.  Romer,    R.  Denk,  and    G.    Hottenroth. 
January  13,   1886,  will   be    memorable   in   the   history    of  this 
church  for  many  years  to  come.      At   half-past  one   o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  boiler  beneath   the  church,    from  which   the   steam 
heating  was  generated,   exploded,  and  the  great  edifice  was  a  dis- 
astrous scene  of  wreck  and  ruin,  the  shock  being  felt  in  every  part 
of  the  city.      The    hreman    was   killed    and   carried  with    him    the 
secret  of  the  cause  of  the  disaster.     A  little  girl,  passing  the  church 
at  the  time  of  the  accident,  was  struck  by  a  door  which  was  blown 
from   its   holdings,  and    instantly    killed.      The   pastoral   residence 
was  also  greatly  damaged.      But   now   an  elegant   new  structure 
graces  the  scene  of  the  disaster,  and  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about 
$75,000,    S.    M.    Lane,    of   Cleveland,   being   the  architect.      The 
corner-stone  was  laid  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Dwenger  on  the  i  ith   ol^ 
July,   1886,  amid  an  immense  throng  of  people.      The  great  struc- 
ture finally  became  a  finished  monument  and  a  tribute  to  the  liber- 
ality   and    almost    unequaled  generosity  of   the   members   of   the 
congregation  and  of  citizens   generally,  even  non-Catholics  of  the 
city  contributing  cheerfully  to  its  erection. 

On  the  third  Sunday  of  Advent,  1887,  the  church  was  dedi- 
cated by  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  I).  D.,  who  also  preached 
the  English  sermon.  The  sermon  in  German  was  preached  by 
Very  Rev.  Abbelen,  of  Milwaukee.  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Rademacher, 
of  Nashville,  sang  pontifical  mass  on  the  occasion.  There  was  a 
large  attendance  of  priests  and  people  from  far  andjnear,  who  had 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol-^    INDIANA. 

come  to  rejoice  with  the  pastor  and  the  congregation  upon  the 
completion  of  the  new  church,  which  will  he  a  lastinj:^  monument 
to  the  generosity  and  faith  of  the  people. 

In  the  year  1862,  the  old  school-house,  a  part  of  which  had 
served  as  a  church  from  1849  to  1858,  was  torn  down  and  a  new 
handsome  school-building  and  Sisters'  convent  were  erected  in  its 
place  at  the  cost  of  $20,000. 

St.  Paul's  Church. — During  the  winter  of  1864  some  thirty- 
five  German-speaking  Catholics  gathered  at  the  residence  of  the 
Rekers  Brothers,  and  after  some  deliberation  set  about  the  work 
of  erecting  a  church  in  the  west  end  of  the  city.  These  same 
Rekers  Brothers  had  been  managing  a  general  home  for  orphans 
and  aged  people,  which  was  supported  by  private  charity,  county 
funds,  and  church  aid,  from  1847  till  about  1864,  when  the 
orphanage  was  opened  at  Rensselaer,  and  the  St.  Joseph  hospital 
w-as  established  in  the  hotel  property  known  as  the  Rockhill 
house.  The  institution  above  referred  to  was  known  as  the  St. 
Vincent's  Orphan  asylum  and  the  St.  Joseph's  hospital,  the  same 
names  given  to  the  new  homes  in  a  later  day.  The  Rekers'  asylum 
has  long  since  made  way  for  the  elegant  residence  now  occupied 
by  A.  C.  Trentman. 

Property  for  the  new  church  was  purchased  adjoining  the 
corner  lot  on  the  southeast  crossing  of  Griffith  and  Jefferson 
streets,  and  a  frame  church  erected  upon  it;  the  lot  cost  $1,  100,  and 
the  building  $3,700  The  corner  lot  upon  which  the  present  brick 
school-house  stands  was  secured  several  years  later.  This  edifice 
was  erected  about  1870.  Two  lots  had  been  bought  on  the  north- 
west corner  and  a  frame  school-house  erected.  (These  lots  were 
sold  a  few  years  since.)  Later  on,  the  northeast  corner  was  pur- 
chased, and  a  commodious  pastoral  residence  erected  on  the  lot 
adjoining  the  corner,  costing  about  $7,000.  In  1886,  the  new 
church,  which  graces  the  northeast  corner  at  the  intersection  of 
Griffith  and  Washington  streets,  was  begun  and  the  corner-stone 
was  laid  the  same  year  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Rademacher,  of 
Nashville.  The  church  was  dedicated  on  the  first  Sunday  of 
November,   1887,   by  Right  Rev.    Bishop  Dwenger.      The  cost  of 

"(279). 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  church  is  about  $50,000.  There  is  some  debt  upon  the  build- 
ing, but  in  the  course  of  a  few  j-ears  it  will  be  completely  liqui- 
dated. St.  Paul's  numbers  185  families.  The  schools  are  taugjht 
by  one  man,  and  three  Sisters  of  the  community  of  Poor  Hand- 
maids. There  are  about  232  children  attending  the  schools.  The 
■congregation  is  composed  of  a  thrifty  and  prosperous  class  of 
people. 

St.  Peter's  Church. — In  1872  a  few  dozen  families  living  in 
the  southeast  part  of  Fort  Wayne,  most  of  whom  had  worshiped  in 
St.  Mary's  church,  formed  themselves  into  a  congregation,  and 
began  the  erection  of  a  large  brick  structure,  divided  into  two 
stories.  On  the  lower  floor  are  four  commodious  school-rooms, 
whilst  the  second  floor  serves  as  a  house  of  worship.  The  corner- 
stone was  laid  in  the  summer  of  1872,  and  the  church  was  dedi- 
cated December  29,  1872,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Dwenger.  The 
approximate  cost  of  the  building  was  $12,000.  Rev.  J.  Wemhoff 
was  appointed  pastor  of  the  new  church,  which  he  faithfully  served 
for  eight  years,  until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  Decem- 
ber I,  1880.  The  schools  were  opened  in  1873,  and  eight  years 
afterwards  Sisters  from  Milwaukee,  known  as  School  Sisters  from 
Notre  Dame,  were  secured  as  teachers,  and  have  at  present  writ- 
ing 435  pupils.  In  1882  the  congregation  purchased  a  house  and 
three  additional  lots  for  a  pastoral  residence.  The  property 
belonging  to  this  church  is  known  as  "  St.  Peter's  square,  "  runs 
from  Warsaw  street  west  to  Hanna,  and  contains  the  entire  strip 
between  DeWald  and  Martin  streets.  In  1887  a  two-story  brick 
building  was  erected  for  a  Sisters'  residence. 

Rev.  A.  Messman  was  the  successor  of  the  lamented  Father 
Wemhoff  in  1880.  Father  Messman  came  to  America  from  north- 
■ern  Germany,  when  a  boy,  and  located  at  Cincinnati.  After  some 
years  he  began  his  studies  for  the  priesthood.  He  graduated  at 
Mt.  St.  Mary's  seminary,  Cincinnati,  and  was  ordained  priest  forthe 
diocese  of  Fort  Wayne  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Luers.  Immediately 
after  his  ordination,  which  took  place  January  6,  1870,  he  was 
appointed  first  resident  pastor  of  Kentland,  Newton  county,  Ind. 
He  remained  there  until  called  to  St.  Peter's  pastorate,  in  Decem- 


IN    THE    STATi:    Ol-     INDIANA. 

ber,  1880,  and  here  had  charge  until  July,  1896,  when  he  took 
charge  of  St.  Joseph's  church  at  Laporte,  Ind.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Father  Koerdt,  who  has  since  had  charge. 

The  new  church,  located  on  the  west  half  of  the  square  and 
facing  Warsaw  street,  was  begun  in  1893  and  dedicated  in  Octo- 
ber, 1894.  It  is  184x75  feet,  and  eighty  feet  high,  the  steeple 
towering  to  a  height  of  207  feet,  and  the  seating  capacity  is  suf- 
ficent  for  1,100  persons.  The  structure  is  purely  Gothic  in  style 
and  cost  about  $70,000,  but,  owing  to  the  stringency  of  business 
since  its  completion,  there  rests  upon  the  congregation  an  indebt- 
edness of  $30,000.  Connected  with  the  parish  are  the  following 
sodalities:  The  St.  Joseph's  School  society,  with  a  membership 
of  225;  the  Association  of  the  Holy  Motherhood,  242;  St.  Ste- 
phen's society  for  Young  Men,  95;  St.  Agnes  society,  for  Young 
Ladies,  115;  Guardian  Angel  societ}',  105;  Rosary  society  and  the 
Sacred  Heart  League,  400;  St.  Cecilia  society,  or  choir,  25;  St. 
Martin's  Benevolent  society,  iio;  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  society, 
devoted  to  the  support  of  the  poor  of  the  parish,  75;  Catholic 
Knights,  40;  Catholic  Benevolent  Legion,  82;  and  the  society  of 
the  Holy  Childhood. 

St.  Patrick's  Church  was  consecrated  Sunday,  November  22. 
1 89 1,  under  most  imposing  ceremonies,  in  which  both  the  clergy 
and  the  laymen  took  part,  assisted  by  many  societary  and  other 
civic  bodies,  but,  for  the  purpose  of  this  work  it  is  only  necessary 
to  give  a  brief  history  of  the  church  proper.  Early  in  the  year 
1889  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  reali- 
zing that  in  the  near  future  a  church  would  be  needed  to  accom- 
modate the  wants  of  the  people  living  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
city  of  Fort  Wayne,  purchased  property  on  Fairfield  avenue.  At 
this  time  this  was  the  only  desirable  property  for  such  a  purpose, 
and  accordingly  a  school  was  opened  there.  In  October  of  that 
year,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  appointed  Rev.  T.  M.  O'Leary  as  the 
pastor  of  this  new  congregation.  At  this  time  an  occasion  was 
presented  for  the  purchase  of  other  property  (six  lots  on  De  Wald 
street,  between  Harrison  and  Webster),  which  was  more  centrally 
located,    and    Father    O'Leary   was    instructed    by   the   Rt.    Rev. 

17  ~1W). 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Bishop  to  secure  it,  and  he  at  once  began  to  make  negotiations 
for  its  purchase.  Before  more  than  the  purchasing  of  four  of 
these  lots  could  be  accomplished  death  claimed  Father  O'Leary, 
the  young,  brilliant,  well  known  and  lamented  priest.  A  month 
later  Bishop  Dwenger  called  a  meeting  of  the  congregation,  and. 
after  encouraging  them,  in  his  fatherly  way,  donated  to  them  the 
property  on  Fairfield  avenue  and  announced  Rev.  J.  F.  Delaney, 
successor  of  Father  O'Leary,  as  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  parish. 
Father  Delaney  at  once  commenced  the  work  of  organizing  the 
congregation,  visiting  the  families  and  soliciting  subscriptions 
for  the  purpose  of  building  a  new  edifice.  To  complete  the 
half  square,  he  purchased  the  remaining  two  lots,  on  DeWald 
street,  and  on  April  i,  1890,  ground  was  broken  for  the  new 
church.  On  May  20,  of  that  year,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by 
Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Dwenger.  The  work  went  rapidly  forward  and 
the  magnificent  new  church  completed  and  dedicated  on  the  date 
mentioned  above,  and  also  school  buildings  and  a  pastoral  resi- 
dence were  added.  The  church  is  a  magnificent  structure,  Gothic 
in  design,  163  feet  in  length,  sixty-seven  feet  in  width,  with  a 
frontage  of  ninety-four  feet.  The  spire  tow^ers  aloft  to  the  height 
of  185  feet.  The  cost  of  the  church,  not  including  furnishings, 
was  about  $50,000,   and  it  has   a  seating  capacity  of  about  1,000. 

FRANKFORT.    CLINTON    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Mission. — The  first  priest  to  visit  Frankfort  was 
Rev.  F.  Lordemann,  of  Ivokomo,  who  conducted  services  for  the 
few  Catholic  families  in  the  city  and  adjacent  country,  in  1874, 
and  at  intervals  of  three  weeks  thereafter  during  the  succeeding 
eight  years.  He  succeeded  in  keeping  alive  the  religious  interests 
thus  inaugurated,  and  in  due  time,  1876,  a  house  of  worship,  cost- 
ing the  sum  of  $800,  was  erected  and  formally  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  God.  This  building  answered  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  intended  until  the  growth  of  the  congregation  necessitated  a 
meeting  place  of  enlarged  dimensions;  accordingly,  in  1892,  the 
bishop  donated  a  site  on  the  corner  of  Second  and  Walnut  streets, 
and  the  same  year  there  was  erected  thereon  the  present  frame 
edifice,  a  well   furnished  and  in  every  respect  a  creditable  temple 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

of  worship,  representing'  a  capital  of  $3,000.  The  mission  now 
known  as  St.  Mary's  is  ministered  to  by  priests  from  LaFayette. 
and  the  congre^^ation,  though  small  in  numbers,  is  constantly 
increasing,  and  at  this  time  is  practically  free  of  debt.  The  church 
is  an  outgrowth  of  faith,  and  its  future  prospects  are  most 
encouraging. 

FRENCHTOWX,     HARRISON    COUNTY. 

St.  Bernard's  Church,  at  Frenchtown,  was  erected  in  1849. 
From  1840  to  1850  Spencer  township,  of  Harrison  county,  was 
being  settled  by  a  number  of  French  families.  Previous  to  1847 
it  appears  the  priests  residing  at  Lanesville  visited  these  families, 
celebrating  mass  at  the  house  of  Theodore  Henriot.  Perhaps 
Revs.  Munschina,  Faller,  Fischer,  Opermann  came  now  and  then. 
We  know  that  they  were  attended  by  the  Rev.  John  P.  Dion  in 
1848,  residing  at  Lanesville.  It  was  he  who  built  the  first  church. 
Father  Dion  resided  at  Lanesville — from  1848-52,  at  Leopold,  from 
1852  to  1858,  during  which  time  he  faithfully  visited  these  parts  of 
St.  Bernard'schurch.  He  settled  at  St.  Bernard's,  the  first  resident 
priest,  from  1858  to  1861.  After  him  Rev.  Gustave  M.  Ginnsz.  resid- 
ing at  St.  Mary's  of  the  .Assumption,  Floyd  Knobs,  attended  for  some 
years  to  St.  Bernard's.  From  1866  to  1872  ic  was  again  visited  by 
Father  Dion,  who,  at  that  time,  resided  at  St.  Croix,  Perry  county. 

From  1873  to  1878  Rev.  F.  de  Langie  had  charge,  being  the 
second  resident  pastor.  During  his  time  a  new  parsonage  was 
built  but  not  finished.  In  1878  we  again  have  Father  Dion  visiting 
from  St.  Croix.  In  1879  the  Rev.  F.  X.  Seegmuller.  resid- 
ing at  Bradford.  Harrison  county,  attended  the  place.  In  1880 
it  was  again  visited  by  the  pastor  of  St.  Croix,  the  Rev.  Charles 
Bilger. 

Rev.  M.  Andres  took  charge  of  the  congregation  in  July, 
1881.  A  new  church,  which  was  begun  during  the  attendance  of 
his  predecessor,  was  finished  by  him,  and  blessed  by  Bishop  Cha- 
tard  on  November  i.   1881. 

Rev.  William  Liesen  had  charge  of  the  parish,  and  in  August, 
1898,  Rev.  John  Haskamp  was  made  resident  pastor,  with  charge, 
also  of  St.  Joseph's  mission  at    Milltown,    Crawford   county.      The 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

school  at  Frenchtown  is  in  charge  of  three  Sisters  of  Pro\idence, 
and  the  pupils  attending;  number  about  fifty-ii\e. 

FULDA,     SPENCFR    COUNTY. 

St.  Boniface's  Church  at  Fulda,  a  small  town  in  Spencer 
county,  was  visited  for  the  first  time  by  a  Catholic  priest  on  June 
5,  1847,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Kundeck,  residing  at  Jasper.  He  built  a 
log  church,  45x30  feet,  to  which  an  addition  of  thirty  feet  was 
made  in  1852.  It  appears  Father  Kundeck  visited  the  place  only 
a  few  times.  Up  to  1852  we  find  on  record  the  names  of  Fathers 
Fischer,  Doyle  and  Contin.  Burials  date  back  to  1848.  Rev. 
Henry  Peters  became  the  first  resident  priest  in  October,  1852. 
He  built  the  first  parsonage,  a  log  house,  and  the  school  was 
opened  in  the  same  year.      Father  Peters  remained  until  August, 

1853. 

The  following  Benedictine  Fathers  became  successively  the 

pastors  of  St.  Boniface's  church  at  Fulda:  Revs.  P.  Bede  O'Con- 
nor, from  August  to  October,  1853,  at  Ferdinand;  Rev.  P.  Eugene 
Schwer;^niann,  until  August,  1854,  at  Ferdinand;  until  October  5, 
1858,  it  was  attended  by  fathers  from  St.  Meinrad;  P.  Chrysos- 
tome  Foffa,  from  October  5.  1858,  to  May  12,  1861;  P.  Martin 
Marty,  until  1863;  P.  Benedict  Brunet  during  the  summer  of  1863; 
P.  Henry  Hug,  until  July,  1865;  P.  Wolfgang  Schlumpf,  until 
December  19,  1869;  P.  Isidor  Hobi.  until  March  21,  1870;  P. 
Placidus  Zarn,  until  January,  1871,  second  resident  priest;  P. 
Benno  Gerber,  until  February.  1877;  P.  Maurus  Helferich,  until  Sep- 
tember, 1 881;  P.  Augustine  Faliey,  to  October,  1890.  and  after 
him  came  the  Rev.  Joseph  Villinger,  O.  S.  B. 

A  new  brick  parsonage  was  completed  June  5,  1877.  In  the 
same  year  three  new  altars  were  placed  in  the  church.  The 
corner-stone  for  the  new  St.  Boniface  church  had  been  laid  in 
i860.  The  foundation  finished,  nothing  more  was  done  until 
1865,  when  work  was  resumed.  The  church  was  solemnly  blessed 
on  June  5,  1866,  by  the  Very  Rev.  Martin  Marty.  In  1870  the 
church  was  plastered.  The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Luers,  of  F'ort 
Wayne,  celebrated  pontifical  high  mass  in  the  church  on  the  feast 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

of    St.  Honifacc,   1870,  and  ordained  Father   Boniface  Dilger  sub- 
deacon. 

The  present  pastor,  Rev.  Joseph  VilHnj^er.  has  done  good  and 
faithful  service,  and  the  parochial  school,  attended  by  about  135 
pupils,  is  in  charge  of  three  Benedictine  nuns. 

GARKETT,    DllKALB  COUNTY. 

SS.  Peter  and  Paul's  Church,  at  Garrett,  was  organized  in 
1876  by  Rev.  A.  Young,  who  came  here  as  a  missionary  from 
Auburn.  The  edifice  was  dedicated  June  29  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Dwenger,  and  the  parish  continued  as  a  mission  until  1886,  when 
Father  Young  became  the  resident  priest,  having  built  the  resi- 
dence he  now  occupies  in  that  year.  In  1880  he  built  an  addition 
to  the  church,  in  1886  a  second  addition,  and  in  1893  a  third — the 
original  dimensions  of  the  building  having  been  24  x  40  feet,  while 
the  present  dimensions  are  50.x  i  10  feet.  The  congregation,  also, 
has  increased  from  twenty-five  families  to  150,  and  through  the 
indefatigable  labors  of  Father  Young  the  parish  has  been  placed  in 
a  most  flourishing  condition.  The  school  was  organized  by  Father 
Young  in  1888,  and  is  now  in  charge  of  seven  Sisters  of  the  Pre- 
cious Blood,  with  an  attendance  of  240  pupils.  The  school-rooms 
are  four  in  number,  the  building  being  30x60  feet,  with  a  hall, 
12  X  36  feet. 

The  cost  of  the  church-building,  as  improved  in  1886,  reached 
$8,000;  the  pastoral  residence,  $2,000;  the  school-building,  com- 
pleted in  1888,  cost  $10,000,  and  the  Sisters'  residence,  finished  in 
1890,  $2,000.  The  societies  attached  to  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's 
church  are  the  Catholic  Knights,  with  a  membership  of  thirty-two; 
the  Catholic  Benevolent  league,  thirty-two;  the  St.  Joseph  School 
society,  ninety-four;  the  Ladies'  Altar  society,  i  15.  and  the  Blessed 
Virgin  sodality,   i  16. 

Rev.  August  Young,  pastor  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's  church, 
was  born  in  Alsace,  Germany,  March  29,  1842,  was  educated  in 
Strassburg,  and,  after  coming  to  the  United  States,  finished  his 
studies  at  St.  Vincent's  abbey,  Westmoreland,  Pa.  He  was 
ordained,  January  i,  1868,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Rapp  for  the 
diocese  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  said  his  first  mass  at   Sandusky  City, 

• 

1285) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Ohio,  January  12.  1868.  He  was  then  assigned  to  Huntington, 
Ind.,  as  assistant  to  the  late  Father  Steiner,  where  he  remained 
until  August  16,  1869,  when  he  was  located,  as  chaplain,  at  the 
orphans'  asylum  of  Rensselaer.  Ind.;  October  28,  1871,  he  was 
oppointed  assistant  at  St.  Mary's,  Fort  Wayne,  and  August  5, 
1872,  was  assigned  to  Auburn,  where  he  organized  the  following- 
named  parishes,  as  missions:  Auburn,  in  1872;  Garrett,  in  1875. 
and  Summit,  in  1880.  He  attended  Garrett  as  a  mission  until 
1886  and  then  came  here  as  resident  pastor,  since  which  time  his 
labors  have  been  untiring  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  his  people 
and  the  glory  of  the  church.  . 

FULTON"  cou^■T^■. 

St.  Ann's  Church  is   located    about   two   miles   northeast  from 
Grass  Creek  station,  and  the   parish  came  into  existence  under  the 
following  circumstances:     In  1858    the   Catholic   families   who  had 
settled  near  Grass  Creek  were  visited   by   Rev.  Francis  X.  Xigg, 
who   administered   to    their    spiritual    needs   until   the   time   rolled 
round  when,  under  his  advice,  steps  were  taken  for  the  erection  of 
a  house  of   worship,  and   a   small   frame   building   was   the  result. 
St.  Ann's,  as  a   mission,  was  then   attended   by  the   Rev.  John  G. 
McMahon    until  1868,  the    Rev.   B.  J.  Force  succeeding  him.      At 
the  death   of  the    latter.    Rev.    Charles   Joseph    Maugin,  of  Craw- 
fordsville,  was   appointed   the   first  resident   pastor,  and  officiated 
until  1870,  when    he   was   succeeded    by   Rev.  James  O'Brien,  and 
after  him  there  followed  pastors  in  the  order  here  named:  In  1873, 
Rev.    John    Dempsey;    in  1878,    Rev.    Thomas    M.  Cahill,  and,  in 
the  same  year.  Rev.  P.  J.  Crosson;  in  1881,  Rev.  M.  Joy;  in  1884, 
Rev.  M.  F.  Kelly;    in  1886,    Rev.    I).    J.    Mulcahy,    during   whose 
stay  of  five  years   the    present   church    was  erected;  in  1891,  Rev. 
Rudolph  Denk,  and  in  October  of  the  same  year  he  was  replaced 
by  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Wiechmann;  in  1893.  came  Rev.  F.  W.  Schae- 
per;   in   December,   1893,    Rev.    G.    M.    Kelly;   in  1894,  Rev.  John 
Cook,    who    officiated    until   January,   1896,    when   the   parish   was 
attended  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Holy  Cross  until  September.   1896, 
when  Rev.  Gregory  A.  Zern  was  appointed,  and  this  worthy  min- 
ister of  God  has  since  devoted  his  pious  care,  not  only  to  the  cure 


IN    THK    STATI-:    OF    INDIANA. 

of  souls  in  St.  Ann's  parish,  but  to  that  of  those  in  the  mission  of 
St.  Elizabeth,  in  Harrison  township,  Cass  county. 

The  cong;regation  of  St.  Ann's  is  entirely  of  Irish  nationality 
and  has  been  able  to  keep  itself  out  of  debt,  a  fact  in  which  it  is 
almost  as  equally  blessed  as  having  for  its  pastor  the  Rev.  Gregory 
A.  Zern 

GOSHEN,  ELKHART  rorXTV. 

St.  John's  Church,  at  Goshen,  was  built  in  i860.  Prior  to 
this  date,  the  wants  of  the  few  Catholic  families  in  Goshen  and 
vicinity  were  attended  to  by  the  priests  who  occasionally  came 
from  Fort  Wayne,  or  from  the  university  of  Notre  Dame,  and  who 
held  services  either  in  the  old  courthouse  or  insome  private  dwelling. 
Rev.  Alexis  Granger,  C.  S.  C.  (now  deceased),  once  stated  to  Rev. 
S.  M.  Yenn,  the  present  worthy  pastor  of  St.  John's,  that  he  had 
often  made  the  trip  from  Notre  Dame  to  Goshen  on  horseback, 
through  the  dense  forests,  without  meeting  a  living  soul  on  the 
way.  The  distance  between  the  two  points  is  now  about  twenty- 
five  miles  by  rail,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  how  many 
miles  the  Rev.  Granger  was  compelled  to  travel  through  the  woods 
when  there  were  no  roads,  no  guides,  and  the  way  beset  with  many 
obstructions.  Besides  the  Rev.  Alexis  Granger,  the  Very  Rev. 
Edward  Sorin,  C.  S.  C,  the  saintly  founder  of  Notre  Dame,  was 
also  an  occasional  visitor  at  Goshen,  as  was  also  Rev.  Father 
Schaefer. 

The  first  resident  priest  at  Goshen  was  the  Rev.  Father  Holz, 
who  officiated  from  1861  until  1866,  after  which  date,  for  about 
six  months,  Goshen  was  a  mission  and  was  attended  by  the  Rev. 
A.  B.  Oechtering  from  Avilla.  Goshen  was  then  again  furnished 
with  a  resident  pastor  in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  Father  Storr,  who 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  H.  Meissner  towards  the  end  of  1868, 
after  Rev.  D.  Duehmig,  of  Avilla.  had  attended  the  parish  for 
almost  a  year.  Father  Meissner  remained  until  1871.  when 
Goshen  again  became  a  mission  of  Avilla,  and  Father  Duehmig 
once  more  the  visiting  priest  in  charge;  but  the  same  year  it  was 
transferred  as  a  mission  to  the  care  of  the  pastor  at  Elkhart,  and 
was  attended  by  Revs.  J.  H.  Ouinlan  and  M.  F.  Noll,  successively. 

(287) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

In  1878,  Goshen  again  obtained  a  resident  pastor  in  the  person  of 
Re\-.  H.  A.  Boeckelmann,  who,  in  1880,  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
A.  J.  Kroeger,  who  remained  seven  years.  In  the  fall  of  1887 
Rev.  Adam  Buchheit  was  appointed  pastor,  Father  Kroeger  being 
transferred  to  LaGro.  In  July,  1889,  the  present  able  young 
pastor,  S.  M.  Yenn.  was  placed  in  charge,  and  has  since  labored 
well  and  faithfully,  doing  much  to  maintain  the  excellent  state  of 
affairs  established  by  his  predecessor.  Father  Kroeger,  who  left 
the  parish  in  a  good  financial  as  well  as  spiritual  condition. 

The  missions  at  Ligonier  and  Millersburg  had,  prior  to  Sep- 
tember, 1897,  been  in  the  care  of  the  pastor  of  Goshen,  but,  at 
the  date  mentioned,  were  detached,  and  Ligonier  was  granted  a 
resident  pastor — the  Rev.  J.  G.  Lauer. 

The  first  Catholic  school-house  in  Goshen  was  erected  in  1867 
by  Rev.  Henry  Meissner,  at  a  cost  of  $500.  Until  1881,  it  was 
taught  successively  by  Messrs.  Duehmig  (brother  of  Rev.  D.  Dueh- 
mig),  Laly,  Wagner,  Tidner  and  Miss  Catherine  Smith.  In  1881 
Father  Kroeger  built  a  very  neat  brick  school-house,  at  a  cost  of 
$1,100,  giving  up  his  own  frame  residence  to  the  Sisters,  who  then 
became  the  teachers.  Then,  while  boarding  with  a  private  family, 
Father  Kroeger  erected  a  handsome  parsonage,  also  of  brick,  and 
then,  by  hard  work,  succeeded  in  liquidating  the  entire  debt  of  the 
congregation.  The  present  school-building  is  30x40  feet,  one 
and  one-half  stories  high,  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Third  and  ' 
Monroe  streets,  about  sixty-five  feet  west  of  the  church,  with  the 
main  entrance  on  Third  street.  The  two  well-ventilated  and  nicely 
furnished  class-rooms  have  a  seating  capacity  for  130  children,  but 
the  present  attendance  does  not  exceed  fifty-seven,  equally  divided 
as  to  the  sexes.  These  are  in  charge  of  two  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  and  the  annual  outlay  for  the  school,  including  the  salary  of 
the  teachers,  is  about  $450.  The  sources  of  income  for  the  school 
are  the  tuition  fees,  at  fifty  cents  per  month  for  each  pupil;  col- 
lections and  sums  derived  from  socials  and  membership  fees  of  St. 
Joseph's  society,  which  was  organized  November  13,  1892.  The 
average  expense  per  pupil,  annually,  is  about  $8.  The  present  value 
of  the  school-ground,  including  the  play-ground,  is  $800,  and  that 
of  the  school-building,  with  its  appurtenances,  about  $1,400.    The 

(Mr 


IN    THE    STATI-:    OF    INDIANA. 

reverend  director    is  the  Rev.  S.   M.  Yenn,  of  whom  a  brief  sketch 
is  given  in  Vol.  II  of  this  work. 

GREENCASTLE,  PUTNAM  COUNTY. 

The  history  of  the  church  of  St.  Paul  the  Apostle  dates  back  to 
1848,  when  Rev.  Simon  Lalumiere,  of  St.  Joseph's  church,  Terre 
Haute,  here  read  the  first  mass  in  an  old  log  school-house,  the 
property  of  Clinton  Walls.  The  early  Catholics  of  Greencastle  and 
vicinity,  but  few  of  whom  are  now  living,  were  generally  employed 
in  the  construction  of  the  Vandalia  and  the  New  Albany  railroads, 
and  for  a  considerable  period  of  time  religious  services  were  held 
in  private  houses.  Other  priests,  beside  the  reverend  father  men- 
tioned, attended  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  this  mission  in  those  early 
days,  among  whom  was  the  Rev.  Daniel  Maloney,  from  Indianap- 
olis. Rev.  William  Doyle  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Maurice  de 
St.  Palais  the  first  pastor  of  this  congregation,  and  it  was  through 
P'ather  Doyle's  efforts  that  the  Catholics  of  Greencastle  came  into 
possession  of  their  first  church  property.  This  consisted  of  an  old 
cooper-shop,  located  in  the  upper  part  of  the  town,  which  they 
purchased  and  converted  into  a  temporary  house  of  worship.  The 
prejudices  of  the  non-Catholic  residents  of  the  place  were  at  that 
time  very  bitter,  as  was  proven  by  the  fact  that  the  owner  of  the 
cooperage  refused  to  sell  the  property  to  Father  Doyle  or  to  any 
Catholic,  and  the  sale  was  finally  made  to  Judge  D.  R.  Echols,  a 
non-Catholic,  but  devoid  of  religious  prejudice,  and  by  him  the 
property  was  turned  over  to  the  devoted  priest. 

Rev.  Edward  O'Flaherty,  of  Crawfordsville,  Ind.,  succeeded 
Father  Doyle,  and  ministered  at  Greencastle  and  adjacent  mis- 
sions until  the  division  or  partition  of  the  diocese  of  Vincennes 
brought  changes,  which  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  Rev.  Pat- 
rick Highland  to  Greencastle,  as  the  first  pastor  after  said  division 
had  been  effected.  He  remained  from  1856  until  i860,  but,  being 
quite  an  elderly  person,  was  forced  by  ill-health  to  resign,  after 
much  hard  labor  and  the  accomplishment  of  a  vast  amount  of 
good  for  the  mission.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  O'Reilly, 
under  whose  administration  many  improvements  were  made.  The 
church  was  furnished  with  the  necessary  appliances  and  means  for 

(289) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  proper  exercise  of  church  rites  and  decent  worship,  the  walls 
were  plastered,  the  altar  erected,  proper  vestments  secured,  the 
outside  of  the  building  painted,  the  fence  built,  the  steeple  erected 
and  the  cross  adjusted — all  adding  to  the  exterior  and  interior 
beauty  of  the  chapel  and  the  conveniences  of  clergyman  and  wor- 
shipers. 

In  May,  1864,  Father  O'Reilly  was  transferred  to  Cambridge, 
Ind.,  and  Rev.  Charles  Joseph  Maugin  appointed  to  the  charge  at 
Greencastle  by  the  bishop  of  Vincennes.  Father  Maugin  entered 
upon  his  duties  with  vigorous  energy,  and  in  April,  1866,  purchased 
the  Old  School  Presbyterian  church-building  for  the  sum  of  $3,000, 
remodeled  it,  and  on  June  loth,  of  the  same  year,  the  building 
was  blessed  by  the  Right  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais  and  conse- 
crated to  St.  Paul  the  Apostle. 

December  26,  1867,  Father  Maugin  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
J.  Clement,  who  erected  a  new  addition  to  the  church-edifice,  but 
was  called  to  the  home  of  the  blest  in  1871,  and  was  succeeded  in 
the  pastorate  by  Rev.  Peter  Bischof,  and  he  by  Rev.  Dennis 
O'Donovan,  who  was  pastor  from  1874  to  1877,  and  then 
exchanged  charges  with  Rev.  Thomas  Logan,  who  remained 
from  February,  1877,  until  August,  1880.  Rev.  Michael  Power 
became  the  next  pastor  and  held  the  charge  from  September,  1880. 
until  1885,  when  Father  Logan  again  assumed  the  pastorate,  and 
in- 1 888  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  Macke,  who,  in  1889,  was 
followed  by  the  present  pious  and  devoted  pastor.  Rev.  Thomas 
A.  McLoughlin. 

From  a  mere  mission,  St.  Paul  the  Apostle  parish  has  a  posi- 
tion of  no  small  importance  in  the  diocese  of  Vincennes.  Its 
property  has  greatly  increased  in  quantity  and  value,  and  the  pres- 
ent church-edifice,  school-house  and  pastor's  residence  give  evi- 
dence of  the  zeal  of  the  different  clergymen  under  whose  charge 
it  has  been  placed  and  of  the  earnestness  of  its  constantly  increas- 
ing congregation.  The  school,  which  is  in  excellent  condition, 
has  been  under  the  care  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence  since  1886. 
Although  no  additional  property  has  been  purchased  since  Rev. 
Father  McLoughlin  came  here,  the  beautiful  appearance  of  the 
church  and  its  environments  is  due  to  his  careful  attention. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


GKEENSBrKC,    DECATUK    COUNTY. 


St.  Mary's  Church.  —  The  Rev.  E.  Martinovic  visited  the 
Catholics  of  Greensburg  and  held  divine  service  in  private  houses 
until  1855,  when  the  present  (brick)  church  was  built.  The  first 
resident  pastor  was  the  Rev.  John  P.  Gillig,  who  labored  here 
with  great  ;;eal  from  1863  until  1871.  In  March  or  April  he  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  j.  L.  Brassart,  who  had  charge  during 
nearly  three  years. 

In  the  fall  of  1874,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Currau  became  pastor. 
New  life  began  to  quicken  the  congregation  during  his  time.  He 
built  a  priest's  house  of  brick  and  secured  a  dwelling  for  the  teach- 
er's residence.  He  also  built  a  brick  school-house  of  two  large 
rooms,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  seventy-five  each.  The  school 
was  given  in  charge  to  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  who  at  present 
have  an  average  attendance  of  eighty  children. 

On  August  2.  1877,  the  Rev.  Henry  Kessing  succeeded  Father 
Curran.  Father  Kessing  was  born  April  11,  1845,  and  was 
ordained  priest  on  September  22,  1868.  Bloomington,  with  its 
numerous  missions,  was  his  first  charge,  and  Greensburg  the 
second  and  last,  and  there  he  paid  off  the  balance  of  indebtedness 
on  the  church  property.  He  died  November  20,  1882,  and  was 
buried  at  St.  Maurice,  Decatur  county.  Rev.  Father  George 
Steigerwald  built  the  present  church  and  parish-house.  He  was 
pastor  of  this  congregation  for  fourteen  years.  Kev.  Lawrence 
Fichter  is  the  present  pastor. 

HAMBl'Kc;,    FKANKLI.X   COUNTV. 

St.  Ann's  Church  is  a  daughter,  so  to  speak,  of  the  Holy 
Family  church  at  Oldenburg,  and  has  been  attended  from  the 
beginning  up  to  the  present  date  by  the  Franciscan  Fathers  e.xclu- 
sively.  Many  years  prior  to  the  building  of  the  church  a  log  house 
was  erected  in  the  present  village,  which  served  as  a  school-house, 
and  was  considered  a  branch  of  the  parochial  schools  at  Olden- 
burg. 

The  school  suggested  a  church  and  congregation.  About 
1868,  Wesley  Martin,  who  owned  a  large   farm   in   Ray  and   Salt 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Creek  townships,  of  Franklin  county,  laid  out  the  present  village 
of  Hamburg,  and  offered  to  donate  five  acres  of  land,  provided  a 
church  was  at  once  built.  The  Catholic  farmers  of  the  neighbor- 
hood at  the  time  numbered  about  thirty-five  families.  They  met 
and  accepted  Mr.  Martin's  offer.  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  gladly  con- 
senting to  the  building  of  a  church.  The  Franciscan  Fathers  of 
Oldenburg  directed  the  work.  In  the  spring  of  1869  the  corner- 
stone was  laid,  and  in  the  same  year,  on  the  19th  day  of  October, 
the  church  was  blessed.  The  church  is  of  brick,  measuring  on  the 
interior  83  x  53  feet,  with  a  height  of  thirty-three  feet  in  the  clear. 
The  old  log  school-house  was  abandoned  in  1873,  and  one  of  brick 
built,  50  X  30  feet.  From  1869  to  1876  the  congregation  had  mass 
and  vespers  on  all  Sundays  and  feasts  of  obligation,  and  mass  also 
on  all  Thursdays  of  the  year.  In  September,  1876,  a  commodious 
two-story  brick  parsonage  was  ready  for  occupancy,  and  since  then 
Hamburg  has  had  a  resident  pastor. 

Two  secular  teachers  had  charge  of  the  shcool  up  to  1878, 
when  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  bought  a  residence  in  Hamburg, 
and  took  charge  of  the  schools.  The  average  attendance  at  school 
is  over  100.  The  congregation  numbers  about  ninety  families. 
The  church  has  three  beautiful  altars,  pulpit  and  decorations, 
costing  $1,500;  $12,000  in  money  was  laid  out  on  the  church 
property;  but  counting  labor  and  building  material  donated, 
$20,000  is  not  too  high  an  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  entire 
church  property.      At  present  Rev.  Joseph  Neuhoffer  is  the  pastor. 

HAMMOND,     LAKE    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  of  which  Rev.  H.  M.  Plaster  is  the 
pastor  and  Rev.  Henry  Kappel  the  assistant,  is  the  oldest  and 
largest  in  this  thriving  little  city  of  over  7,000  inhabitants,  and  its 
parochial  school  is  the  largest,  in  all  probability,  of  any  in  the 
county,  inasmuch  as  it  is  attended  by  about  168  boys  and  195  girls, 
who  are  under  the  instruction  of  eleven  Sisters  of  Providence. 

St.  Casimir's  (Polish)  Church,  under  the  pastoral  charge  of 
Rev.  K.  Kobylinski,  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  and  main- 
tains a  school  attended   by  forty  boys  and    thirty-seven^  girls,    is 

,  (292)" 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol-     INDIANA. 

instructed   by  one  teacher  only,  under  the   reverend   director,  the 
pastor,  of  whom  more  may  be  read  in  Vol.  II  of  this  work. 

All  Saints'  Church  is  fully  mentioned  in  the  personal  sketch  of 
its  pastor,  Rev.  Edward  F.  Barrett,  in  Vol.  II. 

hanovi:r  center,  lake  county. 

St.  Martin's  Church,  at  Hanover  Center,  was  organized  about 
1857,  by  Rev.  Father  Neigh,  with  some  eighteen  or  twenty  Ger- 
man families  as  its  constituents,  among  whom  were  the  following 
heads:  Matthias  Geisen,  John  Scherer,  John  Kretz,  Peter  Heizer. 
Peter  Klein,  Jacob  Leinen,  M.  Lauermann,  J.  J.  Klein,  U. 
Hoeltzle,  John  Eberle,  J.  Roethgen,  G.  Emerling,  M.  Schriver, 
M.  Einsle,  J.  Rhein,  M.  Russell,  P.  Buckley  and  John  Drizkel. 
But  the  spirit  of  Catholicity  imbued  many  others  in  the  vicinity, 
and  the  little  congregation  was  soon  augmented  by  the  faithfulness 
of  the  neighborhood. 

Meetings  were  first  held  in  private  dwellings,  but  the  members 
of  the  congregation  had  been  taught  from  infancy  that  the  worship 
of  God  should  be  observed  in  a  sacred  temple  dedicated  for  that 
purpose  only.  Therefore  they  started  a  subscription  list  with  the 
view  of  raising  funds  to  be  applied  to  the  erection  of  a  church  edi- 
fice, the  result  being  that  a  frame  structure  was  begun  in  1858 
and  completed  in  1859,  at  a  cost  of  $800,  the  interior  being  quite 
tastefully  finished.  This  building  was  used  as  a  place  of  worship 
until  1867,  when,  by  some  accident,  it  was  destroyed  by  fire — 
supposedly  originated  by  the  ignition  of  kindling-wood  that  had 
been  left  too  close  to  an  overheated  stove. 

Steps  were  immediately  taken  by  the  not-at-all  discouraged 
congregation  for  the  building  of  a  new  frame  edifice,  and  this  was 
completed  at  a  cost  of  $2,000,  the  outside  presenting  a  pleas- 
ing appearance,  and  the  interior  decoration  comparing  very  favor- 
ably with  that  of  any  other  church  in  northern  Indiana.  In  1882 
the  congregation  numbered  si.xty  families,  but  this  number  has 
increased  to  seventy-five,  and  the  school  attendance  numbers 
about  fifty-two  pupils.  The  church  real  estate  comprises  five 
acres,  on  which  are  located  the  church  building,  parsonage  and 
teachers'  residence,  and  the  cemetery.      The  successors  of  Father 

~(293j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Neigh  at  St.  Martin's  have  been  Revs.  Ranson.  Wehrle,  F.  Siegel- 
ack,  F.  X.  Deiniel  (1873),  WilHain  Berg  (1S76)  and  Charles 
Steurer  (1882).  October  i,  1889,  the  Rev.  Matthias  Zumbuelte, 
the  present  pious  and  efficient  pastor,  was  placed  in  charge. 

HARTFORD    CITY,    BLACKFORD    COUNTY. 

St.  John  the  Evangelist  Congregation  at  Hartford  City  are 
now  the  owners  of  their  own  church-edifice  and  minister  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist  congregation  at  Mont- 
pelier  and  also  a  mission  at  Dunkirk,  in  Jay  county.  The  Hart- 
ford congregation  was  attended  as  a  mission  for  thirty  years,  or 
until  1894,  the  number  of  families  at  its  organization  consisting  of 
about  sixty.  '  In  1894  Rev.  Charles  Dhe  was  appointed  resident 
pastor,  and,  by  1897,  through  his  strenuous  exertions,  there  was 
completed  the  present  beautiful  church-edifice,  which  is  in  the 
Gothic  style  of  architecture,  is  of  brick,  105  x  50  feet  ground  plan, 
and  cost  $10,000.  It  was  dedicated  April  24,  1898,  and  has  now  a 
large  and  prosperous  congregation,  composed  chiefly  of  Irish  fam- 
ilies, intermixed  with  Belgian  and  French. 

St.  John  the  Evangelist  church  at  Montpelier  was  built  by 
Bishop  Luers  sometime  in  the  'sixties,  and  for  many  years  was 
mainly  supported  by  the  McCaffrey  and  Mesbaum  families,  the 
original  number  of  families  at  the  organization  of  the  congrega- 
tion being  quite  limited  and  at  the  present  time  not  exceeding 
twenty-five.  For  twenty  years  the  congregation  was  ministered  to 
by  Father  Schmidt,  but  in  December,  1894,  it  became  a  mission 
of  the  church  of  the  same  name  at  Hartford  City.  In  1896  a 
neat  Gothic  church,  of  brick,  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $5,500,  and 
this  was  dedicated  in  March  of  the  same  year  by  Bishop  Rade- 
macher.  The  Dunkirk,  Jay  county,  mission  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  church  of  Hartford  City  is  known  as  St.  Mary's,  but  the 
congregation  is  quite  small  and  consists  of  about  twenty-five  fami- 
lies. Prior  to  the  discovery  of  natural  gas  at  Dunkirk  there  were 
hardly  any  Catholics  who  resided  in  the  neighborhood,  but  at 
length  a  congregation  was  organized,  and  for  some  time  religious 
services  were  held  at  the  residence  of  John  Hays,  the  earlier  cler- 
gymen being  Fathers  Lameau,  of  Union  City,  Baker,  of  Portland, 

(294) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

and  J.  Oiiinlan,  of  Union  City.  Father  Dhe  then  ministered  to 
the  congregation  from  1894  until  1896,  in  the  parochial  house, 
when,  in  the  latter  year,  the  present  church  was  erected  at  a  cost 
of  $5,500,  and  was  dedicated  July  4,  by  Bishop  Rademacher — 
Rev.  Charles  Dhe  continuing  as  the  pastor. 

^  HAUBSTAUT,    GIBSON    COUNTY. 

Sts.  Peter  and  Paul's  Church,  at  Haubstadt,  was  erected 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Merckl  in  1877,  Rev.  George 
T.  Widerin  assisting  the  former,  then  pastor  of  St.  James,  which 
church  was  too  small  for  the  accommodation  of  its  growing  con- 
gregation. This  fact  led  to  the  erection  of  the  present  church 
building  at  Haubstadt,  which  at  first,  was  attended  by  but  few 
families,  but  in  a  short  time  the  attendance  increased,  until  at 
present  the  congregation  comprises  at  least  100  good  practical 
Catholics,  who  are  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Bernard  Ewers,  of 
whom  a  biographical  sketch  will  be  found  in  its  proper  place  in 
this  work. 

HENRYVILLE,     DUBOIS    COUNTY. 

St.  Francis  Xavier  Church,  at  Henryville,  was  organized  in 
1862  by  Rev.  Chrysostome  Foffa,  O.  S.  B.  The  church  is  located 
midway  between  Ferdinand  and  Mariahill.  In  1862  the  congre- 
gation numbered  twenty-five  fai;iilies,  who  built  a  stone  church. 
From  1863  to  1871  the  Rev.  Benedict  Brunet,  O.  S.  B.,  visited 
the  mission  from  St.  Meinrad.  He  added  a  sacristy  in  1870. 
From  1 87 1  to  November,  1878,  the  Benedictine  Fathers  regularly 
visited  Henryville,  either  from  St.  Meinrad  or  Mariahill.  From 
November,  1878,  to  August,  1879,  the  Rev.  B.  H.  Kintrup,  resid- 
ing at  Huntingburg,  had  charge.  He  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
parsonage.  Rev.  Pius  Bohm,  O.  S.  B. ,  attended  the  place  from 
September,  1879,  to  January,  1880,  when  he  was  appointed  the 
first  resident  pastor  of  Henryville  church.  He  improved  the  ceme- 
tery, and  furnished  the  church  with  sets  of  vestment,  a  new  pulpit, 
railing,  organ,  etc.,  so  that  it  was  complete  in  all  its  details.  In 
the  autumn  of  1881  the  Benedictine  Sisters  were  introduced. 
They  lived  in   a  rented  house  until  September,   1882,  when  they 

~7295j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

took  possession  of  a  new  house,  built  for  them.      Their  school  has 
flourished  from  the  beginning. 

Rev.  William  A.  Jochum  served  as  pastor  from  June,  1897, 
until  March  4,  1898,  and  was  then  transferred  to  St.  Bernard's 
parish,  at  Rockport,  Spencer  county. 

HESSE    CASSEL,    ALLEN    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church. — Services  were  held  at  Hesse  Cassel  as 
earl}- as  1835,  and  in  1836  a  log  church  was  erected.  The  first 
resident  priest  was  the  Rev.  Father  Mueller,  who  was  followed  in 
order  by  Fathers  Benoit,  Piamion,  Rudolph  Munseheim,  Carins, 
Faller,  Schultes,  Weutz,  Fora,  Schneider  and  Meyer,  the  last 
named  of  whom  erected  the  present  brick  church,  80  x  40  feet,  in 
1868.  Rev.  Martin  Kink  next  officiated  and  was  followed  by  Rev. 
J.  Wemhoff,  and  in  1869  came  Father  Nusbaum,  who  remained 
until  1879,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William  Geers,  and 
he,  a  short  time  afterward,  by  Father  Hueser,  who  remained  until 
January,  1880.  Rev.  John  A.Mark  was  next  appointed  pastor,  and  per- 
formed arduous  labor  in  behalf  of  the  flock  until  October  16,  1897, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Max  Benzinger,  the  present 
beloved  and  zealous  pastor.  The  congregation  comprises  seventy- 
two  families,  mostly  Germans,  and  the  parish  is  in  good  financial 
condition.  The  school-building  is  of  brick,  and  the  pupils,  fifty  in 
number,  are  in  charge  of  three  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  from  Joliet,  111. 

HOBART,     LAKE    COUNTY. 

St.  Bridget's  congregation  at  Hobart  is  attended  from  Turkey 
Creek.  It  was  started  soon  after  the  close  of  the  late  Civil  war, 
by  quite  a  number  of  Irish  families,  conjoined  with  a  few  German 
families,  who  had  settled  in  or  near  the  village.  Prior  to  organi- 
zation, these  families  attended  divine  services,  to  a  great  extent, 
at  Lake  Station,  but  sometimes  services  were  held  at  the  homes 
of  the  faithful  by  the  priest  of  Valparaiso.  The  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Luers  at  that  time  visited  Hobart,  and  encouraged  the  Catholics  to 
remain  faithful  and  to  be  of  good  cheer,  and  under  this  exhorta- 
tion they  lived  and  worked  faithfully  together  until  1874,  when  the 

(296) 


IX    Tin=;    STATi:    Ol-     INDIANA. 

Very  Rev.  Michael  O'Reilley,  of  X'alparaiso,  boug-ht  for  the  con- 
gregation John  G.  Earle's  picture  gallery,  which,  by  him  and  his 
successors,  was  gradually  transformed  into  the  present  beautiful  St. 
Bridget's  church.  Father  O'Reilley  was  pastor  of  the  congrega- 
tion until  October,  1875.  After  him  Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Baum- 
gartner,  resident  pastor  of  Turkey  Creek,  had  charge  of  the  con- 
gregation from  1875  to  1 881;  Rev.  H.  M.  Roth  from  i88r  to  1883; 
then  again  Rev.  F.  X.  Baumgartner,  who  remained  until  1885, 
being  followed  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Flach,  now  pastor  of  Dyer, 
Ind.,  who  remained  until  1888.  He  was  succeeded  in  August 
of  the  latter  year  by  the  Rev.  Charles  V.  Stetter,  D.  D.  The 
membership  numbers  at  present  about  200,  and  the  Word  of 
God  is  preached  to  the  people  both  in  English  and  German. 
Services  are  held  the  third  Sunday  of  every  month — the  Monday 
after  the  fourth  Sunday — and  every  Saturday. 

Lake  Station  is  at  present  also  attended  from  Turkey  Creek. 
Most  Catholics  having  moved  away,  the  few  still  remaining  attend 
church  in  Hobart,  although  they  have  service  in  their  own  church 
a  few  times  a  year. 

HUNTINGBURG,    DUBOIS  COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Parish  (Church  of  the  Visitation,  B.  V.  M.). — It  is 
claimed  that  the  first  mass  recited  in  St.  Mary's  parish  October  20. 
1859,  was  by  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor,  O.  S.  B.  In  August,  i860,  the 
corner-stone  of  the  new  church  was  laid  by  Rev.  Isidor  Hobi,  O.  S. 
B.  The  Church  of  the  Visitation  of  the  B.  V.  M.  was  visited  by 
the  pastor  of  Ferdinand  in  1865  and  1866,  and  also  from  1873  to 
1876.  In  1868,  it  was  attended  from  Jasper  twice  each  month, 
and  after  that  year,  to  1873,  from  St.  Meinrad.  In  1869  the  trid- 
uum  was  preached  by  Fathers  Matthias  and  Painer,  of  Teutopolis, 
111.  Father  Fidelis,  O.  S.  B.,  previous  to  1869,  had  much  to  do 
with  establishing  the  congregation  in  St.  Mary's  parish.  The 
church  records  of  St.  Mary's  give  the  roster  of  priests  in  charge  of 
the  parish,  from  1869,  until  the  present,  as  follows:  From  March, 
1869,  to  November,  1870,  Rev.  H.  Hug;  November,  1870,  to 
February,  1873,  Rev.  Eberhard  Stadler;  February,  1873,  to  April, 
1876,    Rev.    Maur  Helferich;  April,  1876.  to  October,   1878,  Rev. 

18  "(297) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Caspar  Seller;  October,  1878,  to  May,  1881,  Rev.  Kintrup;  May, 
1881,  to  December,  1886,  Rev.  Placidus  Zarn.  Under  the  adminis- 
tration of  Father  Zarn  the  present  church-edifice  was  erected. 
From  December,  1886,  to  November,  1890,  Rev.  Cyrin  Thomas 
was  the  pastor,  and  then  Rev.  Aug.  Falley,  the  present  pastor,  was 
placed  in  charge;  Rev.  Caspar  Seiler  acted  as  pastor  and  teacher 
after  he  established  the  first  Catholic  school  in  the  parish,  which 
numbered  from  twelve  to  twenty  pupils.  The  school  is  conducted 
in  the  old  church-building  just  north  of  the  church-edifice,  and  the 
attendance  numbers  133,  under  charge  of  five  Benedictine  Sisters. 
The  congregation  of  St.  Mary's  at  present  numbers  ninety 
families.  Father  Falley  has  had  charge  of  the  congregation  for 
seven  years  and  si.\  months,  and,  as  he  is  of  a  genial  and  cordial 
nature,  has  won  the  love  of  his  people,  as  v/ell  as  the  non-Catholics 
in  the  parish.  When  he  assumed  charge  of  the  parish  there  was 
a  debt  on  the  church  property  of  $7,800,  and  during  his  pastorate 
he  has  reduced  this  debt  $3,800,  beside  keeping  up  the  schools  and 
the  general  church  expenses.  The  congregation  is  in  a  peaceful 
and  contented  state,  and  the  religious  bodies  of  the  parish  are  all 
in  a  healthy  condition.  The  value  of  the  property  of  St.  Mary's 
parish  is  valued  at  $20,000. 

HUNTINGTON,  HUNTINGTON  COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Church  stands  to-day  a  monument  of  the  benefi- 
cence of  the  late  John  Roche,  who  was  born  in  county  Wexford, 
Ireland,  and  died  in  Huntington,  Ind. ,  in  October,  1894.  His 
sister,  Miss  Bridget  Roche,  however,  is  to  be  credited  with  the 
honor  of  having  presented  this  magnificent  structure  to  the  parish, 
deriving  the  means  from  the  estate  of  her  deceased  brother.  The 
corner-stone  of  the  building  was  laid  October  i  ith,  1896,  by  Bishop 
Rademacher,  and  the  edifice  completed  and  dedicated  on  the  day 
above  mentioned,  it  being  one  of  the  most  imposing  church  struc- 
tures in  the  state.  The  building  is  sixty-eight  and  one-half  feet  in 
width  and  147  feet  in  length.  The  main  tower  is  130  feet  high, 
while  the  smaller  tower  is  nearly  ninety-four  feet  above  the  founda- 
tion. The  center  of  the  ceiling  in  the  nave  is  fifty-seven  feet  from 
the  floor,  and  from  the    floor  to  the  bridge  of  the  roof   is  sevent\- 

{29SJ~ 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

feet.  The  interior  \  iew  is  like  a  dream  and  is  the  artist's  ideal. 
To  the  appreciative  observer  it  is  like  a  place  of  enchantment,  a 
scene  which  appeals  to  one's  loftiest  emotions  and  yet  suggests 
solemn  and  silent  admiration.  Its  high  columns  of  polished  gran- 
ite, its  graceful  arches  and  artistic  architectural  curves,  glittering 
altars,  statuary  in  colors,  and  painted  domes  which  seem  to  open 
into  the  very  stars  of  the  firmament,  all  blend  in  harmony  sub- 
lime and  make  the  beholder  wonder  whether  he  is  really  in  Hunt- 
ington or  not. 

C.  R.  Noel,  of  Chicago,  with  five  assistants,  did  the  fresco- 
ing, the  base  of  which  is  a  peculiar  shade  of  drab  which  blends 
into  light  blue,  pink  with  gold  touchings,  the  effect  being  cheerful 
and  yet  mellow.  In  the  ceiling  around  the  ventilator  are  transfer 
portraits  of  St.  John  with  an  eagle,  St.  Matthew  with  an  angel 
child,  St.  Luke  with  an  ox  and  St.  Mark  with  a  lion.  A  magnifi- 
cent painting  in  the  dome  over  the  sanctuary  is  the  "  Immaculate 
Conception."  The  Blessed  Virgin  is  floating  among  fleecy  clouds 
through  which  cherubs  are  peeping.  The  combination  of  colors 
in  this  piece  is  exquisite.  "The  Tomb,"  "Flight  Into  Egypt" 
and  the  "Crucifixion  "  are  large  paintings  just  over  the  sanctuary, 
which  are  strong  in  color  and  show  well  from  the  auditorium. 

The  fourteen  events  of  the  cross,  which  are  usually  paintings 
seen  on  the  side  walls  of  Catholic  churches,  are  in  statue  form, 
executed  in  colors  and  hung  in  handsomely  carved  oak  frames. 
They  are  "Jesus  Condemned  to  Death,"  "  Laden  with  the  Cross," 
"Falls  the  First  Time,"  "Meets  His  Holy  Mother,"  "Simon 
Helps  Jesus  Carry  the  Cross,"  "  \'eronia  Wipes  the  Face  of 
Jesus,"  "Jesus  Falls  the  Second  Time,"  "He  Consoles  the  Weep- 
ing Women,"  "Falls  the  Third  Time,"  "Stripped  of  His  Gar- 
ments," "Nailed  to  the  Cross,"  "Dies  on  the  Cross, "  "Taken 
Down  from  the  Cross,  "  "Laid  in  the  Sepulchre."  While  this 
statuary  is  not  of  large  size,  it  was  made  in  Germany  and  is  an 
exhibition  of  high  art  and  very  impressive.  But  the  climax  of  fine 
statuary  can  be  seen  in  the  five  altars,  which  are  known  as  the 
"  High  Altars,"  "The  Sorrowful  Mother,"  "  The  Sacred  Heart," 
"St.  Joseph,"  "The  Blessed  Virgin."  They  are  life  size  and  so 
realistic  that  many  who  look  upon  them  are   lost  in  reveries,  and 

~(299) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

indeed  so  pathetic  is  the  scene  of  the  "Sorrowful  Mother  "  that 
more  than  one  who  gaze  upon  it  are  moved  to  tears.  At  the  base 
of  the  "High  Altar"  is  a  representation  of  Christ  and  the  apostles 
at  supper,  all  in  statuary,  even  to  the  dishes  on  the  table.  This 
large  statuary  was  made  in  France,  and  to  an  artist  is  of  marvel- 
ous beauty.  The  confessionals,  two  in  number,  are  of  carved  oak 
and  of  handsome  design.  The  pulpit  shows  skilled  workmanship 
and  is  movable,  a  track  being  laid  on  the  floor  upon  which  it  can 
be  rolled  to  the  center  or  left  at  the  side  of  the  auditorium,  ft  is 
provided  with  a  sounding  board  which  materially  aids  the  speaker 
in  making  himself  heard   distinctly   in   all   parts  of  the  auditorium. 

Heat  is  provided  by  steam  radiators  supplied  by  boilers  in  a 
separate  building  some  distance  from  the  church.  ft  will  furnish 
heat  both  for  the  church  and  the  school-building. 

The  congregation  of  St.  Mary's  comprises  eighty-three  Eng- 
lish-speaking families  and  the  school  attendance  is  130,  under  five 
Sisters  of  Providence — the  school  building  being  situated  on  War- 
ren street,  at  the  back  of  the  church  edifice.  The  pastoral  resi- 
dence is  of  pressed  brick,  is  62  x  30  feet,  two  and  one-half  stories 
high,  and  is  located  in  one  of  the  most  popular  parts  of  the  city, 
south  of  the  church-building.  The  sodalities  attached  to  the  con- 
gregation are  the  I^iving  Rosary  society  and  numbers  105  married 
ladies;  the  Young  Ladies'  sodality  numbers  forty-four;  the  Young 
Men's  sodality,  thirty-eight;  the  Married  Men's  sodality,  sixty;  the 
Boys  and  Girls'  society,  eighteen,  and  the  Conference  of  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul  society,  twenty-seven. 

SS  Peter  and  Paul's  Congregation. — The  Catholic  pioneers 
who  had  settled  in  Huntington  county  before  the  year  1857  were 
first  occasionally  visited  by  priests  residing  in  Fort  Wayne,  in  most 
cases  by  Father  Julian  Benoit.  the  late  prominent  vicar-general,  and 
by  Father  E.  M.  Faller,  now  pastor  in  New  Albany.  A  little  later 
they  were  regularly  attended  from  LaGro  by  Father  Ryan.  Fran- 
cis Lafontaine,  principal  chief  of  the  Miami  tribe  of  Indians,  who 
died  April  13,  1847,  and  is  buried  in  the  Catholic  cemetery  at 
Huntington,  had  donated,  for  the  benefit  of  the  congregation,  one 
square,  on  which  first  a  log  house  for  divine  service  was  erected. 

(Boot 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Rev.  Dr.  A.  Schippert  was  the  first  residcuL  priest.  He  stayed 
from  March,  1857,  until  August,  1858.  Rev.  Schippert  was  a 
native  of  the  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg  and  a  convert  from  Luther- 
anism.  In  a  railrojid  wreck  one  of  his  legs  became  fractured,  and 
the  permanent  injury  resulting  therefrom  made  missionary  labor 
impossible.  Divine  Providence  procured  for  him  a  position  as 
teacher  of  the  iM-ench  language  at  a  young  ladies'  academy  in  Inns- 
bruck, where  the  present  pastor  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul,  then  a 
student,  sometimes  saw  him  limping  on  the  sidewalk  toward  his 
school. 

The  immediate  successor  of  Father  Schippert  was  Rev.  Fred- 
erich    Fuchs,  born   in    Muenster,  the   capital   city    of    Westphalia. 
Before  he  was  received  into  the    diocese   of  Fort    Wayne,    he   had 
been  a  successful  worker  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  where  his  talent 
and  zeal  are  held  in  grateful  memory  up  to  this    day.      No  sooner 
had    Father  Fuchs  received    his  pastorate  than  he  opened  a  paro- 
chial school  in  the  same  frame  building  and   the  same  room  where 
divine   service    was    being  held.      He  also   succeeded  in  erecting  a 
priest-house,  being  glad,  as  he  used  to  say,  that  at  last  "the  fo.\  " 
had  found  shelter.      After  a  stay  of  five   years  he    left    Huntington 
for  Klaasville,  in  Lake  county,  to  see  if  his  seriously  afflicted  health 
could  be  recuperated  in  a   steadier   climate.      This   hope   was   not 
realized,  as    Father    Fuchs   clied    only    a    few    weeks    later.        His 
remains  were  interred  in  the  Klaasville  cemetery.      Delegates  were 
sent  from  Huntington  to  have  the  earthly  remains  of  their  beloved 
pastor  brought  to  their  town;    yet    the   good    people  could   not    be 
prevailed  upon  to  part  with  what  was  left  of   one    whom  they   had 
learned  in  so  short  a  time  to  love  dearly  and  to  esteem  highly. 

PVom  the  end  of  August  until  the  beginning  of  December.  1863. 
Rev.  Martin  Kink  had  charge  of  the  congregation  as  acting  pastor. 
In  later  years  he  returned  to  Bavaria,  his  native  country  where 
he  died  a  few  years  ago  after  a  protracted  corporal  and  mental 
disease. 

In  December,  1863,  Rev.  Jacob  Mayer  was  appointed  pastor 
of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's.  He  built  a  large  church  at  aco^.tof  about 
$30,000,  of  which  sum  he  left  $9,564  to  his  successor  to  pay. 
Father  Mayer  worked  with  indefatigable  zeal  five  years   in    Hunt- 

~m') 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ington,  until  August,   1868.      He  was    then   transferred  to   Logans- 
port,  where  he  started  a  German  congregation. 

The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  George  Steiner,  born  in  New  Ulm, 
Bavaria,  April  13,  1836.  He  at  once  entrusted  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  Milwaukee,  with  the  charge  of  the  parochial  school,  com- 
pleted the  church  steeple,  and,  in  1873.  built  a  large  and  substan- 
tial school-house,  together  with  a  Sisters'  convent,  at  a  cost  of 
$17,000.  He  suffered  a  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs  whilst  chanting  at 
the  cathedral  during  holy  week  in  1876.  He  never  regained  his 
health,  but  after  four  years  of  patient  lingering  died  June  i,  1880. 
and  was  buried  on  the  day  following  in  Albuquerque,  N.  Me\., 
whither  he  had  gone  in  search  of  health.  Father  Steiner  had 
resigned  his  pastorate  in  the  beginning  of  January.  1880,  and  Rev. 
J.  H.  Hueser  became  his  successor.  In  later  years  Bishop 
Dwenger  honored  the  congregation  by  raising  the  pastor  to  the 
position  of  an  irremovable  rector.  The  congregation  had  deserved 
such  an  honor,  as  they  had  erected  hue  church  and  school  build- 
ings under  Fathers  Mayer  and  Steiner,  and  shown  the  same  good 
spirit  under  Father  Hueser,  who,  from  1880  to  1897,  spent  $77,042 
b}^  way  of  current  expenses,  $14,238  in  discharge  of  old  debts  and 
interest,  and  $37,921  for  repairs  and  improvements,  so  that  the 
expenses  in  all  amounted  to  $129,201.  The  principal  improve- 
ments are  two  furnaces  for  church,  for  $700;  high  altar,  for  $2,300; 
three  bells,  for  $1,350;  renovating  and  frescoing  church,  for  $6,000; 
new  priest-house,  for  $9,000;  new  organ,  for  $3,700;  ten  painted 
glass  windows,  from  the  Tyrolese  Art  Glass  company,  for  $5,  140; 
tuckpointing  church  and  veneering  its  foundation,  for  $1,300;  new 
cemetery,  for  $3,350.  The  present  debt  of  the  congregation 
amounts  to  $3,600. 

The  number  of  families  attending  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  church 
is  about  200.  The  following  societies  and  confraternities  are  rep- 
resented: Holy  Angels'  Little  sodality;  Young  Men's  St.  Francis 
de  Sales  sodalit}-;  The  Children  of  Mai}-  (the  Young  Ladies'  sodal- 
ity); the  archconfraternity  of  Christian  Mothers;  St.  Joseph's 
society  of  Men;  the  Sacred  league;  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi;  the  Benevolent  legion,  and  the  Knights  of  St.    John. 


f;{02) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


INDIANAI'OLIS,    MARION  COUNTY 


Assumption  Church,  at  IndianapoHs.  was  organizerl  in  1894, 
with  a  congrej^ation  of  sixty  families,  and  was  dedicated  August  12. 
1894,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Francis  Silas  Chatard.  It  is  a  frame 
structure,  40  x  100  feet,  has  a  seating  capacity  for  450  persons,  and 
cost  about  $6,000.  Dr.  E.  J.  Brennen  was  the  donor  of  the 
stations  of  the  cross;  Joseph  A.  Rink  presented  the  altar,  and  M. 
O'Connor  and  others  contributed  the  vestments.  The  erection  of 
the  church,  parsonage  and  school-edifices  was  superintended  by 
the  present  worthy  pastor.  Rev.  Joseph  F.  Weber,  who  now  has 
in  his  care  a  congregation  of  120  families.  The  school-building  is 
60x70  feet  in  size,  is  two  stories  high,  with  a  basement,  and  has 
a  seating  capacity  for  220  pupils,  the  present  enrolment  being 
253,  who  are  under  the  instruction  of  six  Sisters  of  St.  Benedict. 
The  church  property  is  in  the  western  part  of  the  city  and  meas- 
,ures  320  feet  frontage,  with  a  depth  of  160  feet. 

Rev.  Joseph  F.  \\"eber  was  born  in  Ripley  county,"  Ind.,  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1865.  a  son  of  Frank  and  Josephine  (Hameriey)  Weber, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Germany  and  the  latter  in  the 
United  States  — the  father  being  now  a  retired  merchant  and  hav- 
ing his  home  with  his  son.  Rev.  Joseph  F.  In  his  youth,  Father 
Weber  attended  the  Jesuit  college  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  three  terms, 
or  until  he  was  se\"enteen  years  of  age,  and  then  entered  St.  Mein- 
rad's  college,  in  Spencer  county,  Ind..  where  he  finished  his 
studies,  and  was  ordained  priest  June  19,  1889,  by  Bishop  Cha- 
tard. He  was  then  appointed  assistant  at  St.  John's  church,  Indi- 
napolis,  where  for  five  and  a  half  \ears  he  abh-  and  zealously  per- 
formed the  functions  pertaining  to  his  position,  and  was  then 
placed  in  charge  of  Assumption  parish,  where  his  labors  have  been 
crowned  with  blessed  results,  as  recorded  above. 

St.  Anthony's  Church. — Ground  was  broken  for  the  construc- 
tion of  this  edifice  August  14,  1890,  and  the  corner-stone  was  laid 
by  the  Rev.  F.  H.  Gavisk,  September  16,  1890.  The  church- 
building  was  blessed  February  i,  1891,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Mgr. 
Aug.  Bessonies,  \'.  G.,  assisted  by   Revs.  Gavisk   and   Dowd,  and 

(303) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

after  the  dedicatory  services,  solemn  mass  was  celebrated  by  the 
Very  Rev.  Anthony  Scheideler,  V.  G.  Father  Gavisk  preached  a 
very  appropriate  sermon  on  the  occasion,  taking  for  his  text  the 
words  of  the  Psahiiist,  "I  have  rejoiced  to-day  to  go  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord,"  thus  closing  the  ceremonies. 

St.  Anthony's  church-building  is  valued  at  $8,000.  Since  its 
erection  a  rectory,  valued  at  $4,000,  has  been  built,  and  also  a 
Sisters'  residence,  which  cost  about  the  same  amount.  The  paro- 
chial school,  in  the  basen^ent  of  the  church,  is  in  charge  of  the 
Sisters  of  Providence,  six  in  number,  the  first  superioress,  Sister 
Charlotte,  having  been  prominently  identified  with  the  educational 
work  of  the  diocese  of  Vincennes  for  many  years,  and  being  still 
at  the  head  of  the  school.  The  pupils  number  about  150,  are 
instructed  from  the  primary  to  the  seventh  grade,  and  are  edu- 
cated in  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  church  history,  catechism, 
etc.,  beside  the  ordinar}' common-school  studies.  The  congrega- 
tion has  grown  from  sixty  to  200  families,  under  the  administra- 
tion of  Rev.  Francis  B.  Dowd,  the  present  pastor,  whose  piety 
and  eloquence  have  bound  them  together  in  peace  and  harmony, 
and  who  never  tires  in  his  labors  for  their  spiritual  and  temporal 
welfae. 

St.  Bridget's  Church,  in  the  northwest  portion  of  the  city  of 
Indianapolis,  was  founded  by  a  body  of  Catholics  who  had  been 
members  of  St.  John's  congregation.  The  ground  on  which  the 
church  parsonage  and  school  now  stand  was  bought  in  April,  1879, 
for  $3,600.  and  on  the  22d  day  of  June,  in  the  same  year,  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  the  sacred  edifice  was  laid,  and  the  church  blessed 
January  i,  1880.  It  is  an  ornament  to  the  portion  of  the  cit}^ 
in  which  it  stands;  its  ground  measurement  is  106x44  feet  and  the 
cost  of  its  erection  was  fully  $11,000.  At  that  time  the  congrega- 
tion numbered  about  140  families,  who  were  placed  under  the  care 
of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Curran,  its  first  and  only  pastor  to  the  present 
time.  Father  Curran  has  had  many  difficulties  to  contend  with, 
but  he  has  labored  faithfully  and  energetically  and  has  built  up  the 
congregation  substantially.  For  the  first  two  months  of  his 
incumbency  he  lived  in  the  vestry-room   of   the  church,  then  for 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol-     INDIANA. 

about  eleven  months  in  the  house  of  the  bishop,  then  rented  a  cot- 
tage near  the  church,  and  finally,  in  December,  i88[,  took  pos- 
session of  the  parsonage,  which  had  been  erected  for  the  modest 
sum  of  $1 ,000. 

Father  Curran.  in  July,  1880,  induced  the  Sisters  of  St.  bVan- 
cis,  of  Oldenburg,  to  secure  teachers  for  his  school  and  also  to 
erect  a  building  suitable  for  school  purposes.  This  building,  which 
is  complete  in  every  respect,  cost  not  less  than  $1  1,000,  and  was 
finished  and  blessed  January  2,  1881.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Francis, 
now  in  charge,  number  nine,  with  Sister  Helena  as  directress,  and 
the  enumeration  of  scholars  is  266;  there  is,  beside,  attached  to  this 
church,  a  school  known  as  St.  Ann's,  attended  by  sixty  colored 
pupils,  who  are  also  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis.  The 
instruction  in  these  schools  is  thorough  and  comprehensive,  and 
includes  lessons  in  music,  both  vocal  and  instrumental. 

Rev.  Daniel  Curran  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  was  born  in 
Crusheen,  county  Clare,  September  9,  1841,  and  came  to  Amer- 
ica with  his  parents  in  1850.  He  was  ordained  priest  at  Indian- 
apolis, by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  Sepiember  6,  1874,  and  had  his 
first  mission  at  Greensburg,  Decatur  county,  Ind.,  where  he 
remained  until  July  28,  1877,  when  he  was  called  to  Indianapolis 
by  the  Very  Rev.  August  Bessonies,  administrator  of  the  diocese, 
and  here  was  assistant  at  St.  John's  church  until  appointed  by 
Bishop  Chatard  to  his  present  charge. 

The  Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  and  the  convent  of 
the  reverend  Franciscan  Fathers  connected  therewith  are  located 
at  the  corner  of  Union,  and  Palmer  streets,  Indianapolis.  The 
parish  consists  of  those  German  families  which  live  south  of 
McCarty  street,  and  at  present  it  is  the  largest  German  parish  in 
the  city  of  Indianapolis, 

The  Rev.  Father  Simon  Siegrist,  rector  of  St.  Mary's  church, 
several  years  before  his  death,  earnestly  desired  that  the  reverend 
Franciscan  Fathers,  whom  he  held  in  high  esteem,  should  come 
to  Indianapolis  to  take  charge  of  St.  Mary's  church.  His  request, 
however,  could  not  be  grafted.  In  the  course  of  time  the  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  found   it   necessary  to  establish  another 

"  (305) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

German  parish  in  Indianapolis.  St.  Mary's  congregation  becom- 
ing too  large,  its  boundaries  lying  too  far  apart,  and  the  church 
being  too  small.  Father  Siegrist  again  urged  that  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  should  come  to  Indianapolis.  b^inally,  at  the  chapter  of 
the  Franciscan  province  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  St.  Louis,  it  was 
decided  to  permanently  establish  a  house  of  the  order,  and  so 
organize  a  new  German  parish  in  Indianapolis. 

July  14,  1875,  the  first  five  Fathers  came  to  Indianapolis, 
namely:  Rev.  Fathers  Alardus  Andrescheck,  Vincentius  Halfas,  Pau- 
cratius  Schulte,  Arsenius  Fable  and  Francis  Moenning.  Their 
first  home  was  in  the  old  academic  building  at  the  corner  of  Cap- 
itol avenue  and  Georgia  street.  They  set  to  work  at  once.  In 
August,  1875,  the  entire  block  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Union 
and  Palmer  streets  was  purchased  for  the  new  congregation.  The 
place  has  420  feet  front  and  is  182  feet  deep.  The  erection  of  a 
large  house,  to  be  used  as  a  church,  school  and  convent,  was  begun 
immediately.  On  September  19,  1875,  the  corner-stone  was  laid 
with  imposing  ceremonies.  The  Very  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor,  O.  S. 
B.,  then  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  held  the  panegyric  in  Ger- 
man and  English.  These  were  his  last  sermons,  for  a  short  time 
afterward  he  died  suddenly. 

December  25  of  the  same  year,  the  completed  building  was 
dedicated  and  the  Fathers  took  possession  of  it.  The  second  story 
was  partly  used  as  a  church,  the  first  story  as  a  school,  while  the 
third  story  was  practically  the  convent. 

The  little  parish  hardly  numbered  sixty  families.  These, 
however,  showed  their  good  will  by  holding  together  and  making 
heroic  sacrifices  to  keep  up  church  and  convent.  Frank  Adler 
presented  a  bell,  and  Charles  Wagner,  then  a  young  man,  took 
the  task  upon  himself  of  collecting  money  for  another.  The  good 
women  of  the  parish,  also,  did  much  to  embellish  the  interior  of 
the  little  church.  Rev.  Father  Alardus  was  ver\-  zealous  in 
advancing  the  congregation,  and  to  instil  into  the  hearts  of  his 
people  love  for  their  little  church. 

In  1877  Rev.  Father  Alardus  bade  farewell  as  pastor  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  church,  and  Rev.  Father  Ferdinand  Bergmeyer,  O. 
F.  M.,  was  appointed  as  his  successor. 


IN    THE    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

During  nine  long  years,  this  reverend  Father  labored  zealously 
for  the  welfare  of  the  congregation,  which  greatly  increased  in 
membership  every  year.  It  was  soon  noticed  that  that  part  of  the 
monastery  which  was  being  used  as  a  church  could  not  accommo- 
date all  the  faithful.  But  it  was  too  difficult  to  begin  the  erection 
of  a  new  church.  The  Fathers,  at  the  beginning  of  their  career  in 
Indianapolis,  had  to  struggle  with  many  obstacles.  The  grounds 
on  which  the  church  and  convent  were  built  cost  $10,000,  but 
when  the  monastery  was  being  built  unscrupulous  contractors 
seriously  deceived  them.  The  purchase  of  another  plat  of  ground, 
for  a  new  school-building,  turned  out  to  be  a  fraud.  The  debts  of 
the  congregation,  therefore,  accumulated  largely,  and  in  1876  they 
reached  the  enormous  sum  of  $35,000.  The  Fathers  worked 
strenuously  to  diminish  this  sum,  and  several  times  they  made  col- 
lections from  other  parts  for  this  purpose.  When,  therefore,  in 
1882.  the  debts  were  as  yet  quite  large,  and,  on  this  account,  the 
people  did  not  dare  to  begin  the  erection  of  a  new  church.  Rev. 
Father  Ferdinand  informed  his  congregation  that  the  Franciscan 
order  would  take  care  of  the  balance  of  the  debt.  A  subscription 
list,  toward  the  building  of  a  new  church,  was  started  at  once. 
The  delighted  people  immediately  signed  over  $6,000  for  promoting 
this  purpose. 

The  venerable  Brother  Adrian,  O.  F.  M.,  who  has  become 
widely  known,  from  his  designing  the  plans  and  conducting  the 
erection  of  more  than  too  magnificent  church-buildings  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  States,  was  called  upon  to  prepare  plans  and  specifi- 
cations for  a  new  church.  The  structure  was  to  be  in  Gothic 
style,  and  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  having  a  length  of  168  feet  and  a 
width  of  eighty-eight  feet  in  the  transept,  and  sixty-four  feet  in 
the  aisles.  As  the  means  of  the  congregation,  however,  were  quite 
limited,  it  was  decided  not  to  build  the  entire  church  at  once,  but 
only  a  portion,  and  to  complete  the  edifice  later  on,  as  means 
would  permit.  Accordingly,  only  the  sanctuary  and  a  portion  of 
the  nave  were  built,  the  whole  being  i  18  feet  long  by  eighty- 
eight  feet  wide.  July  8.  1883,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  the 
St.  Rev.  Bishop  Francis  Silas  Chatard.  amid  a  great  throng  of 
people,  numbering  some  15,000.      The  work   on   the  building  was 

(3UT) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

pushed  rapidly,  and  on  the  second  Sunday   in   Advent  (December 
lo,   1885)  the  new  church  was  dedicated. 

The  cost  of  this  structure  was  only  $20,000,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  valuable  services  were  gratuitously  rendered  by  prominent 
members  of  the  parish.  The  masonry  was  done  by  Jacob  Fritz; 
George  Clements  did  the  carpenter  work,  and  Joseph  Ernst  had 
the  contract  for  plastering.  The  inner  work,  as  altars,  pews, 
confessionals,  pulpit,  pillars,  etc.,  was  done  mostly  by  the  carpenter 
Brothers  of  the  Franciscan  order.  Brother  Isidor  and  Brother 
Didadus  deserve  special  mention  for  their  very  effective  work  in 
the  inner  decoration.  When  this  building  was  completed,  there 
was  a  debt  of  about  $9,000  resting  on  it. 

In  July,  1885,  Rev.  Father  Ferdinand  was  elected  guardian 
of  Santa  Barbara,  Cal.,  and  Rev.  Francis  Haase  became  pastor 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  church.  The  standing  of  the  congregation 
at  this  time  was  quite  a  favorable  one,  numbering  some  350  fami- 
lies. The  principal  aim  of  the  new  pastor  was  to  diminish  the 
debt  which  rested  upon  the  church  and  to  render  the  interior  more 
attractive  and  devout.  To  this  end,  the  high  altar  was  enlarged, 
and  remodeled  and  furnished  with  new  statues  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  of  St.  Francis  and  of  St.  Anthony.  In  1886  new  con- 
fessionals, made  by  Brother  Isidore,  were  put  up.  The  same 
Brother  also  made  an  artistically  carved  communion  railing. 
Near  this  time,  also,  a  beautiful  crib  was  purchased,  which  ever 
since  attracts  the  attention  of  the  faithful  during  the  Christmas 
festivals.  In  1887  Rev.  Father  Francis  purchased  from  the  world- 
renowned  art  gallery  of  Mayer,  in  Munich,  Bavaria,  two  handsome 
and  artistic  statues  of  the  Sorrowful  Mother,  and  of  St.  Anna 
instructing  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

In  1890  the  last  debts  of  the  church  were  paid.  As  it  was 
found  the  church  could  not  accommodate  all  the  faithful,  it  was 
decided  to  finish  the  edifice  according  to  the  original  plans.  But 
to  render  the  exterior  more  attractive,  the  plans  were  so  changed 
that  two  magnificent  towers  were  built  at  the  front.  Brother 
Adrian  also  planned  and  directed  this  annex. 

The  addition  cost  $30,000  and  was  completed  the  year  fol- 
lowing.     Shortly  before  completion,   a  great  calamity  befell  the 

JmT 


IN    THK    STATK    Ol-     INDIANA. 

edifice  mid  it  was  thou/^ht  for  some  time  that  everything  would  be 
destroyed  by  fire.  On  Easter  Monday.  1891.  at  about  11  o'clock. 
A.  M..  lightning  struck  the  south  tower,  passed  over  the  entire 
building,  and  damaged  it  in  several  places.  In  the  basement  of 
the  churc  h  a  very  dangerous  fire  originated,  just  below  the  com- 
munion railing.  The  fire  department  had  hard  work  to  extinguish 
the  fire,  but  succeeded  after  laboring  one  whole  hour.  The  dam- 
age was  about  $600,  which,  however,  was  fully  covered  b}-  insur- 
ance. This  terrible  hour  and  its  exciting  scenes  will  forever  remain 
in  the  minds  of  all   those  present. 

After  the  two  towers  were  completed,  large  and  harmonious 
bells  were  purchased.  Rev.  Father  Francis  took  great  pains  to 
secure  the  bells  by  special  donations.  The  largest  bell,  which 
weighs  in  the  crown  4,000  pounds,  was  donated  by  several  parties, 
and  is  dedicated  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.  The  inscription  in 
the  bell  is,  Laudis  Thema  Specialis — I  am  the  object  of  special 
praise.  This  bell  hangs  alone  in  the  north-side  tower.  The  south- 
side  tower  contains  three  bells.  The  largest  bell  was  presented  by 
the  St.  Francis  Benevolent  society.  It  is  dedicated  to  St.  Francis, 
and,  in  reverence  to  him,  the  inscription  is,  Pra:;co  sum  magni 
regis— I  am  the  herald  of  the  great  king.  The  second  bell  in  this 
tower  was  presented  by  George  Ohleyer,  a  pioneer  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  parish,  who  by  his  special  gift  left  a  lasting  monument  to 
his  memory.  This  bell  was  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  with 
the  inscription,  Annuntio  vobis  gaudium  magnum — I  announce  to 
you  a  great  joy.  The  smallest  bell  was  presented  by  Charles 
Wagner  and  dedicated  to  St.  Joseph,  and  bears  the  inscription, 
Protectorem  Domini  glorifico— I  praise  the  Foster  Father  of 
the  Lord. 

June  7th,  1 89 1,  this  set  of  bells  was  blessed  by  the  Very  Rev. 
Father  Ferdinand  Bergmeyer,  who,  at  the  time  was  provincial  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  province.  About  the  same  time  the  interior  of 
the  church  was  artistically  frescoed  by  Mr.  Hefele,  of  Cincinnati, 
at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  After  the  walls  of  the  church  had  been  thus 
embellished  they  received  a  new  ornament,  namely,  a  set  of  artistic 
stations,  donated  by  a  benefactor  of  the  church  who  desires  his 
name  to  be  withheld.      The  stations,  in  high  relief  of  terra-cotta, 

(309) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

were  procured  in  the  art  emporium    of   Mayer,  Munich,  Bavaria, 
whilst  the  frames  of  hard  oak  were  obtained   at   Chicago,  111. 

In  the  midst  of  this  work  the  Rev.  P.  Francis  Haase  was 
called  away  by  the  chapter  of  the  province  and  made  superior  of 
the  Franciscan  convent  at  St.  Louis  on  July  8,  i8gi.  His  suc- 
cessor, as  pastor  of  the  Sacred  Heart  parish,  was  Rev.  P.  Bernar- 
dine  Weis.  The  first  aim  of  the  new  pastor  was  to  have  the  church 
consecrated.  Since,  according  to  ecclesiastical  laws,  no  indebted 
church  can  be  consecrated,  he  induced  several  wealthy  members  of 
the  parish  to  assume  the  responsibility  for  the  $15,000  debt,  which 
still  remained  on  the  church-building.  Meeting  with  success. 
Father  Bernardine  could  make  the  immediate  preparations  for  the 
solemn  consecration.  October  4,  1891,  this  grand  and  rare  cere- 
mony took  place,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard  officiating. 
The  former  pastors  of  the  church,  the  Very  Rev.  P.  Ferdinand 
Bergmeyer  and  the  Rev.  P.  Francis  Haase,  were  both  present. 
The  latter  delivered  a  sermon,  appropriate  to  the  solemn  occasion. 
For  three  years  the  Rev.  P.  Bernardine  arduously  labored  as  pas- 
tor of  the  Sacred  Heart  church,  successfully  managing,  during  this 
short  period,  to  efface  the  total  debt  of  $15,000. 

In  August,  1894,  the  Rev.  P.  Francis  Haase  was  appointed 
pastor  of  the  Sacred  Heart  church  a  second  time.  He  at  once 
began  the  last  building  which  the  wants  of  the  large  congregation 
required — a  new  school-house,  with  a  large  entertainment  hall  and 
serveral  club-rooms  for  the  different  societies  of  the  parish.  Already, 
in  1888,  three  lots  north  of  the  church-building  had  been  purchased 
for  this  purpose. 

In  1895  the  plans  for  the  new  building  were  drawn  up  by 
Brother  Adrian,  O.  F.  M.,  and  work  commenced  at  once.  The 
building,  156x66  feet,  has  three  stories.  The  basement  contains 
club  rooms  for  the  men  and  young  men's  societies,  a  dining  room 
and  kitchen,  used  at  church  festivals,  and  a  recreation  hall  80x25 
feet  with  a  bowling  alley.  On  the  second  floor  there  are  class 
rooms,  a  library,  a  chapel  for  the  ladies'  sodalities,  and  the  apart- 
ments for  the  teacher  and  the  janitor.  The  entertainment  hall 
extends  over  the  whole  third  floor,  is  148x60  feet,  and  has  a  seat- 
ing capacity  of   1,000.      The  hall  is  named  St.  Ca-cilia's  hall,  in 

(MoT 


IN    THE    STATl':    Ol"    INDIANA. 

honor   of   St.   CcLcilia's   society,    whose    members    always  took    an 
active  interest  in  all  chnrch  festivals. 

The  last  embellishment  the  church  has  received  in  the  present 
year,  1898,  are  the  two  new  side  altars,  upon  which  not  onh-  the 
above-mentioned  statues  of  the  Sorrowful  Mother  and  St.  Ann  are 
placed,  but  also  the  statues  of  St.  Martin,  St.  George,  St.  Ca-cilia 
and  St.  Agatha.  The  first  three  statues  were  donated  by  St.  Mar- 
tin's branch,  No.  80,  C.  Iv.  A.,  St.  George's  commandery.  No. 
192,  Knights  of  St.  John,  and  St.  Ccccilia's  society;  other  benefac- 
tors paid  for  the  statue  of  St.  Agatha,  the  protectress  against  fire. 
These  two  altars,  the  workmanship  of  Brother  Isidore,  were  blessed 
August  7,  by  Rev.  Father  Francis;  Very  Rev.  P.  Michael  Richardt, 
O.  -F.  M.,  delivered  the  sermon. 

Two  other  side  altars  will  be  procured  in  the  near  future, 
as  also  a  new  grand  organ,  so  that  the  interior  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  church  will  be  completed  within  the  next  two  years,  when 
the  celebration  of  the  silver  jubilee  will  take  place.  The  parish  at 
present  numbers  550  families.  May  God's  blessing  always  remain 
with  it,  that  it  ever  prosper  and  flourish. 

The  sodality  of  St.  Clare  for  the  young  ladies  of  the  church 
of  the  Sacred  Heart,  was  the  first  sodality  which  was  founded  in 
the  congregation.  As  early  as  1875  the  young  ladies  had  begun 
this  society.  The  organization,  however,  first  took  place  under 
Rev.  P.  Alardus,  O.  F.  M.,  on  May  5.  1878.  Since  1889  the 
sodality  is  divided  into  two  branches.  The  first  communicants 
remain  in  the  first  branch  for  two  years,  and  are  then  admitted  into 
the  other.  The  members  of  the  first  branch  wear  a  white  ribbon, 
while  the  members  of  the  second  department  wear  a  blue  ribbon, 
with  a  medal  as  their  regalia.  The  members  receive  the  holy 
sacraments  on  every  third  Sunday  of  the  month,  and  are  obliged 
to  attend  the  monthly  meetings.  At  present  it  has  a  membership 
of  250  young  ladies. 

The  sodality  of  St.  Louis  for  boys  after  they  make  their  first 
communion  originated  as  follows:  In  May  of  the  year  1885,  Rev. 
P.  Ferdinand,  O.  F.  M.,  organized  a  special  society  for  boys.  St. 
Louis,  one  of  the  twenty-five  Japanese  martyrs  of  the  Franciscan 
Order,  was  chosen  as  its  patron.      The    first   communicants  of  the 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

year  1885,  numbering  thirty-one,  were  the  first  who  joined  this 
society.  The  solemn  reception  took  place  on  June  the  28th.  The 
first  director  of  this  sodality  was  Ven.  Br.  Markus,  O.  F.  M.  Rev. 
P.  Augustine  Heuseler,  O.  F.  M.,  succeeded  him  in  August,  1885. 
The  number  of  members  rapidly  increased.  In  the  following  year 
the  sodality  received  a  banner  through  the  assistance  of  Rev.  P. 
Augustine.  The  members  of  this  society  approach  the  sacraments 
every  fourth  Sunday  in  the  month  and  have  their  meeting  on  every 
first  Sunday.      It  at  present  enjoys  a  membership  of  fifty-four  boys. 

In  June,  1889,  the  sodality  of  St.  Louis  was  divided  into  two 
branches.  The  one  was  intended  for  boys  and  the  other  for  young 
men.  The  branch  to  which  the  young  men  belong  was  placed 
under  the  patronage  of  St.  Aloysius.  At  its  origin  it  had  fifty-four 
members.  The  young  men  receive  the  sacraments  once  every  two 
months,  and  have  their  meetings  on  the  second  Sunday  of  every 
month.  At  present  the  sodality  has  eighty-five  members,  and  is 
known  as  the  sodality  of  St.  Aloysius  for  young  men. 

On  December  12,  1875,  the  Sodality  of  Christian  Mothers 
was  organized.  Immediately,  130  pious  women  joined  it.  The 
members  of  this  society  should  not  only  strive  after  personal  piety, 
but  also  introduce  piety  and  devotion  into  their  families  by  fervent 
instructions  to  their  children  as  well  -as  by  good  example.  A 
monthly  contribution  of  ten  cents  is  being  paid  by  every  member. 
Every  other  month  the  society  receives  holy  communion  in  com- 
mon.     At  present  it  numbers  405  members. 

The  society  of  St.  Caicilia  for  men  was  established  October 
28,  1877,  in  the  parish  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  In  the  beginning,  the 
aim  of  this  society  was  to  provide  for  the  singing  in  the  church. 
The  church  choir  formerly  consisted  of  the  members  of  this  society. 
It  placed  itself  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Csecilia,  the  patroness 
of  song  and  music.  This  society  also  had  to  prepare  dramatic  and 
musical  entertainments  for  the  benefit  of  the  church,  and  has  dis- 
played great  skill  in  this  line  on  various  occasions.  Every  fourth 
Sunday  in  the  month  this  society  has  a  meeting.  On  the  first 
Sunday  after  the  22d  of  November  it  celebrates  the  feast  of  its 
patron.      It  is  owing  greatly  to  this  society's  endeavor,  also,  that 


(312) 


I.N    THE    STATE    ol"    INDIANA. 

the  parish  has  a  beautiful  and  voluminous  library.  This  society 
has  at  present  135  members. 

The  Mutual  Aid  society  of  St.  Francis  for  Men  was  organized 
March  5,  ICS76,  under  the  guidance  of  its  spiritual  director  and 
member.  Rev.  P.  Alardus  Andrescheck,  with  a  membership  of 
sixty-six  men.  Its  purpose  is  to  assist  those  members,  who,  by 
sickness,  are  disabled  for  labor,  by  the  contribution  of  a  monthly 
fee  of  fifty  cents.  Every  sick  member  receives  the  sum  of  five 
dollars  every  week.  In  order  to  be  admitted  to  this  society  the 
applicant  must  be  sound  both  bodily  and  mentally;  must  not  be- 
long to  any  secret  societies;  must  have  a  good  reputation  and  a 
Christian  character;  must  have  attained  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
and  not  be  over  fifty  years  old.  At  present  the  treasury  of  this 
society  contains  $7,000.  This  society  has  a  meeting  on  the  first 
Sunday  of  every  month.  On  the  first  Sunday  after  the  fourth  of 
October,  it  celebrates  the  feast  of  its  patron,  and  on  the  first  Sun- 
day after  the  fifth  of  March  it  celebrates  its  anniversary.  The  mem- 
bers approach  the  sacraments  in  corpore  on  both  of  these  feasts. 
At  present  the  membership  of  this  society  amounts  to  180  men. 

The  Knights  of  St.  George,  in  the  year  1876,  belonged  to  the 
Emeralds.  Later  on  it  separated  from  that  society  and  assumed 
the  name,  Knights  of  St.  George.  Thus  it  remained  until  Decem- 
ber, 1891,  when  it  joined  the  Knights  of  St.  John.  The  second 
Monday  of  every  month  is  the  appointed  day  for  their  meeting.  In 
this  society  there  is  also  a  uniformed  branch,  which  is  placed 
under  the  leadership  of  the  able  captain,  Oscar  Wuenth.  They 
received  prizes  at  the  conventions  at  Evansville,  Dayton  and 
Crawfordsville,  which  clearly  shows  their  skill    in    military  tactics. 

St.  Martin's  branch,  No.  80,  of  the  Catholic  Knights  of 
America,  a  branch  of  Catholic  Germans,  was  formed  about  the 
year  1880.  The  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard  allotted  it  to  the 
Sacred  Heart  church,  and  appointed  Rev.  P.  Ferdinand  Bergmeyer 
as  its  spiritual  director.  It  has  a  meeting  on  every  first  and  third 
Monday  of  every  month,  and  has  a  membership  of  128  men. 

St.  John's  church,  the  first  of  the  name  at  Indianapolis,  a 
brick  building,  was  erected  in  1850  by  the  Rev.  John  Gueguen  on 

19  ~{313) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  spot  where  Bishop  Chatard's  addition  to  the  parsonage  now 
stands,  facing  Georgia  street.  Shortly  afterward,  Father  Gueguen 
was  succ-eded  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  Maloney,  who  built  an  addition 
to  the  edifice  in  1857,  and  in  October  of  the  same  year  the  Very 
Rev.  August  Bessonies  was  appointed  pastor,  and  took  charge 
November  5.  In  1858,  the  building  of  a  young  ladies'  academy 
was  begun  on  the  corner  of  Georgia  and  Tennessee  streets,  and 
was  finished  in  1859,  w^as  placed  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Provi- 
dence, and  two  years  later  was  enlarged.  In  1862  ground  for  a 
cemetery  was  purchased;  in  1863  a  parsonage  was  built;  in  1865  a 
school-building  for  boys,  adjoining  the  parsonage,  was  begun,  and 
completed  in  1866,  and  this  was  placed  in  the  charge  of  the 
Brothers  of  the  Sacred  Heart  early  in  the  following  year. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  present  St.  John's  church-edifice  was 
laid  July  21,  1867,  by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  Father  Smarius,  S. 
J.,  preaching  the  sermon.  The  building  is  an  imposing  structure, 
2024^x75  feet;  the  center  nave  is  fifty  feet  wide  and  fifty-three 
feet  high;  the  transept  is  67  x  50  feet,  and  the  sanctuary  is  40  x  30^ 
feet.  It  has  two  towers  and  the  spires  reach  an  altitude  of  200 
feet.  The  church  fronts  on  Tennessee  street,  and  its  cost  reached 
over  $120,000.  A  chapel  for  the  baptismal  font  is  situated  on  the 
north  side  of  the  sanctuary,  near  the  entrance,  and  four  small 
chapels  are  located  on  each  side  of  the  nave  for  side  altars  and 
confessionals.  Bishop  Chatard  generously  enriched  the  church  by 
the  donation  of  a  marble  altar  that  cost  $4,000,  and  two  very  fine 
side  altars,  costing  $700  each,  were  presented  by  the  church  socie- 
ties. At  the  completion  of  the  church,  the  Sisters  of  Providence 
removed  from  Georgia  and  Tennessee  streets  to  their  commodious 
St.  John's  academy,  facing  Maryland  street,  and  in  1879  Bishop 
Francis  Silas  Chatard  erected  his  episcopal  residence  in  immediate 
connection  with  St.  John's  parsonage. 

Father  Bessonies,  pastor  of  St.  John's  in  1885,  celebrated  his 
seventieth  birth-day,  was  created  a  domestic  prelate  of  the  Pope 
and  received  the  title  of  Monsignore,  as  a  testimony  to  his  good 
services.  In  1890  Mgr.  Bessonies  celebrated  his  golden  jubilee  as 
priest  and  then  resigned  the  pastorate  of  the  church.  He  went  to 
Europe,  but  has,  since   his  return,  continued   to   reside  with   the 

(3T4r 


%.-i»isiii^*fcea.i- — ■■  .-.rvrrf- 


ST.  JOSEPH'S   HALL,  INDIANAPOLIS. 


ST.  JOSEPH'S  PASTORAL  RESIDENCE,   INDIANAPOLIS. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

bishop,  ^oing  with  him  to  the  new  episcopal   residence,  corner  of 
Fourteenth  and  Meridian  streets. 

On  the  resignation  of  Mgr.  Bessonies  the  Rev.  Francis  H. 
Gavisk,  who  had  been  assistant  priest  at  St.  John's  church  since 
1885,  was  placed  in  temporary  charge.  He  was  appointed  rector 
in  September,  1892.  In  the  year  1893  e.xtensive  improvements 
were  made  on  the  church.  The  spires  were  completed,  the  choir 
gallery  enlarged,  a  vestibule  added,  and  the  interior  of  the  church 
decorated  and  frescoed.  The  following  year,  1894,  a  large  organ 
was  placed  in  the  choir  gallery.  These  improvements,  which  com- 
pleted the  church,  cost  $35,000. 

The  Rev.  F.  H.  Gavisk,  the  present  rector,  was  born  at 
Evansville,  Ind.,  in  1856.  He  pursued  his  studies  at  St.  Mein- 
rad,  Ind.,  where  he  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  1885. 
Since  his  ordination  he  has  been  connected  with  St.  John's  church. 
He  is  assisted  by  Revs.  Victor  J.  Brucker  and  Stephen  Donoghue. 
The  congregation  comprises  about  800  families,  and  the  school  for 
boys  is  supervised  by  five  brothers  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  with  210 
pupils,  while  that  for  girls,  under  eighteen  Sisters  of  Providence,  is 
attended   by  363  pupils. 

St.  Joseph's  Congregation  was  organized  in  1873  by  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Petit.  He  erected  a  two-story  building  on  East  Vermont 
street,  which  was  to  be  church,  school  and  parsonage.  He 
resigned  his  charge  in  April,  1874.  The  congregation  was  then 
attended  from  St.  John's  by  Rev.  E  J.  Spelman  and  Rev.  Francis 
M.  ^;Iousset.  In  1874  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  built  a  roomy  three- 
story  addition  to  the  building  erected  by  Father  Petit,  and  made 
of  it  St.  Joseph's  seminary.  The  congregation  continued  to  have 
regular  services  in  the  seminary  chapel.  The  Rev.  H.  Alerding 
was  appointed  to  a  position  of  procurator  for  the  seminary  and 
pastor  of  the  congregation  in  July  of  1874,  when  the  seminary  was 
opened.  The  seminary  continued  for  one  year  and  was  then  aban- 
doned. From  that  time  until  the  spring  of  1879  nothing  was  done 
by  way  of  providing  the  congregation  with  a  suitable  church, 
because  Bishop  de  St.  Palais'  consent  to  build  a  church  was  per- 
sistently withheld.      In  the  month  of  April,   1879,  Bishop  Chatard 

~{3lb) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

determined  to  make  of  the  seminary  a  hospital.  He  not  only 
urged  the  congregation  to  build  a  new  church  in  some  other  quar- 
ter, but  refunded  $2,000  of  the  money  spent  on  the  old  building. 
Two  lots,  on  which  St.  Joseph's  church  now  stands,  on  the  corner 
of  North  and  Noble  streets,  were  purchased  for  $5,500,  on  April 
25,  1879.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  July  20,  1879.  by  Bishop 
Chatard,  assisted  by  the  priests  of  the  city.  On  July  4,  1880,  the 
new  church  was  blessed  by  Bishop  Chatard  and  the  first  mass 
celebrated  by  Father  Petit,  of  Madison.  St.  Joseph's  church  is  a 
Gothic  structure.  It  is  130  feet  long,  the  nave  45  feet,  and  the 
transept  70  feet  in  width,  the  height  of  spire  135  feet.  The  cost 
of  the  church  was  $20,000.  Churches  of  similar  design  built  in 
1882  have  cost  $25,000.  In  1881  a  parsonage  was  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $5,000,  including  its  furnishings.  In  1882  three  new  altars 
were  built  for  $1,200.  In  1883  a  new  pulpit  for  $300,  two  con- 
fessionals, and  Sacred  Heart  altar.  A  few  years  after  the  interior 
was  handsomely  frescoed.  The  church  and  furnishings  are  now 
complete  in  every  particular.  The  cost  of  the  furnishings,  includ- 
ing a  Roosevelt  organ,  amounted  to  over  $7,000. 

The  school  has  existed  in  St.  Joseph's  from  the  time  the  pres- 
ent pastor  received  charge  of  the  congregation.  It  was  taught  by 
P.  Jennings  for  one  year,  1875  to  1876;  by  the  Misses  O'Connell, 
1876  to  1877,  and  by  Mrs.  P.  H.  McNelis,  who  also  had  charge 
for  a  time,  and  since  then  by  the  Sisters  of  Providence.  This 
community  bought  a  lot  south  of  the  church  in  1880;  the  buildings 
on  it  were  utilized  for  school  purposes,  but  they  proved  to  be 
inadequate. 

In  1 88 1  a  new  school-building  was  erected  by  the  Sisters  of 
Providence — a  three-story  building,  length,  130  feet — with  Tour 
large  school-rooms,  and  hall  on  third  floor.  The  front  portion 
forms  the  Sisters'  residence,  with  recitation  rooms,  music  rooms 
and  chapel. 

The  last  great  work  of  the  parish  was  the  erection  of  a  school- 
building  for  boys,  with  four  spacious  school-rooms  on  the  ground 
floor,  and  a  very  commodious  and  attractive  hall  on  the  second 
floor.  The  building  was  erected  in  1892.  The  building,  heating 
and  water  attachments,  furnishings  of  the  school-room,  of  the  hall. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

stage,  gytiinasium,  pool-room  and  other  expenses,  including  paint- 
ing of  the  hall,  and  complete  outfit  of  scenery,  necessitated  the 
outlay  of  over  $20,000. 

From  the  above  may  be  gathered  that  St.  Joseph's  congrega- 
tion since-its  organization  has  spent  in  the  erection  of  buildings, 
their  furnishings  and  the  ground,  $57,500.  On  this  outlay  of 
money  is  still  due  the  sum  of  $i6,ooo.  The  congregation  is  even 
now  (1898)  making  strenuous  efforts  to  pay  of^  this  balance,  and, 
God  willing,  to  celebrate  the  silver  jubilee  of  its  existence  by  the 
solemn  consecration  of  its  beautiful  church. 

St.  Mary's  (German)  Church,    Indianapalis,    was   founded   in 

1857,  in  August  of  which  year  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Arch- 
bishop Purcell,  in  the  presence  of  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  and  Fathers 
Brandt  and  Maloney.  Father  Maloney  had  been  pastor  of  St. 
John's  congregation  for  some  years,  and  the  Germans  were  part 
of  that  congregation  until  the  close  of  1857,  when  Rev.  L.  Brandt 
founded  St.  Mary's. 

When  the  Rev.  Simon  Siegrist  became  pastor  on  January  22, 

1858,  he  found  the  four  walls  of  the  church  and  a  debt  of  $3,200. 
In  that  same  year,  on  the  15th  of  August,  the  church  was  used  for 
the  first  time,  the  sanctuary  only  having  been  plastered.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1858,  however,  it  was  blessed  by  the  Rev.  Jos.  Rudolph,  in 
the  presence  of  Bishop  de  St.  Palais.  The  following  are  the  dates, 
character  and  cost  of  the  improvements:  December  8,  1858,  a  new 
organ,  $1,325;  September,  1859,  the  small  bell,  $247;  March  18, 
1863,  a  second  bell,  $317.  In  1868  the  steeple  was  built  at  a  cost 
of  $2,500.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  the  church  received  a  new 
roof  for  $500.  In  1869  the  church  was  frescoed  and  the  altars 
gilded,  for  $500,  donated  by  Joseph  Nurre.  In  the  same  year 
stained  glass  windows  were  procured  for  $400.  December  5,  1869, 
the  large  bell  was  bought,  costing  $643.  The  present  handsome 
parsonage  Wris  built  in  1871.  at  a  cost  of  $8,540.  Father  Siegrist 
took  possession  of  this  March  22,   1872. 

The  Rev.  Simon  Siegrist  was  born  at  Stottsheim,  diocese  of 
Strasbourg,  France,  on  February  13,  1822.  He  emigrated  to  the 
United   States,    arriving    at   St.    Louis,   June    19,    1847,    and   was 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ordained  priest  there  in  the  same  year  August  20.  He  had  charge 
of  the  church  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul  in  St.  I^ouis  from  the  time  of 
his  ordination  until  his  arrival  in  Indianapolis.  After  a  severe  and 
lingering  illness  he  departed  this  life  on  October  28,  1S73.  Father 
Siegrist  was  an  eloquent  man,  with  a  kind  word  for  all  and  great 
charity  for  the  poor. 

The  Benedictine  Fathers.  Rev.  P.  Frowin,  Very  Rev.  Bede 
O'Connor  and  Rev.  Eberhardt  Stadler,  had  charge  of  St.  Mary's 
until  July  28,   1874. 

The  \'ery  Rev.  Anthony  Scheideler,  V.  C,  has  been  pastor 
of  St.  Mary's  since  July  28,  1874,  although  he  did  not  become 
vicar-general  until  1878.  when  he  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Chatard. 
He  was  born  at  Borgholz,  Westphalia,  May  23,  1836.  He  studied 
at  Paderborn  three  years,  and  emigrated  to  America  May  20,  1854. 
He  continued  his  studies  at  the  Benedictine  abbey,  St.  Vincent's, 
Pa.,  until  March  8,  1858,  then  came  to  Vincennes,  finished  his 
theology,  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  on  October 
21,  i860,  and  celebrated  his  first  mass  at  St.  Joseph's,  Clark 
county.  He  remained  at  Madison  with  Father  Brandt  for  three 
weeks,  and  was  then  appointed  the  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's,  Dear- 
born county,  on  November  28,  i860,  from  which  place  he  also 
visited  Dover,  same  county,  for  five  and  a  half  years;  St.  Mary's, 
Indianapolis,  has  been  the  scene  of  his  labors  since  the  summer 
of    1874. 

The  first  improvement,  in  the  fall  of  1874,  was  on  the  cem- 
etery, where  Father  Scheideler  erected  a  monument  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Father  Siegrist,  and  built  a  beautiful  mortuary  chapel,  with 
vault  underneath,  at  a  cost  of  $6,000.  In  the  same  year  the 
church  received  new  gas  fixtures  and  pews,  costing  $1,340.  On 
October  19,  1875,  George  Pfau  donated  a  fine  communion  railing, 
worth  $315.  The  three  altars  were  enriched  with  splendid  candle- 
sticks for  $333.  Father  Scheideler's  greatest  work  is  the  boys' 
school,  which  necessitated  an  outlay  of  $[2, 000  in  1876.  The 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  also  in  1876,  erected  a  magnificent  school- 
building  for  the  girls;  the  corner-stone  was  laid  July  2,  and  it  was 
blessed  December  8.  The  church  was  given  new  stained  glass 
windows  in  1881,  for  $500.      The   boys'    playground  was   enlarged 


IX    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

by  the  removal  of  the  old  school  in  rear  of  the  church,  and  fenced 
at  a  cost  of  $400.  A  new  set  of  stations,  costing  $500,  was 
bought  and  erected  by  P.  Ferdinand,  O.  S.  F..  on  March  24, 
1882.  The  congregation  numbers  360  families.  The  schools  are 
attended  by  350  children,  under  fifteen  Sisters  of  St.  Francis. 
Father  Scheideler's  assistant  is  the  Rev.  John  I^oibl. 

Sunday,  August  19.  1883,  the  silver  jubilee  of  the  church  was 
celebrated.  The  exterior  was  newl\-  painted,  the  inside  newly 
frescoed,  pews  revarnished,  etc.,  the  members  of  the  congregation 
having  liberally  contributed  $2,583  for  the  purpose,  which  sum 
fully  covered  the  expenses.  Solemn  pontifical  high  mass  was  cel- 
ebrated by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Chatard,  and  the  occasion  was 
indeed  a  joyful  one  for  the  congregation  and  its  pastor. 

Sunday,  July  26,  1885,  two  beautiful  statutes  of  the  Sacred 
Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary  were  blessed.  These  were  the  gift  of 
one  person  and  cost  $347.  October  21,  1885,  the  pastor  cele- 
brated his  personal  jubilee,  and  in  this  the  entire  congregation  took 
part,  donating  many  costly  vestments  and  other  gifts.  October 
15.  1886,  a  new  furnace  was  placed  in  the  church  at  a  cost  of 
$390.  March  26.  1887,  Mrs.  Magdalena  Maushad  a  new  Brussels 
carpet  laid  at  the  feet  of  Our  Savior,  in  the  sanctuar\ ,  at  a  cost  of 
$300.  November  9,  1887.  the  congregation  bought  an  additional 
lot,  39  X  185  feet,  for  $7,500,  and  in  the  summer  of  1889,  a  fine 
society  hall  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $13,350.  and  blessed  August 
II.  In  May.  1890.  a  new  Cortright  metal  shingle  roof,  new  cor- 
nices, gutters,  etc..  were  placed  on  the  church,  at  a  cost  of  $950, 
which  amount  was  donated  by  seven  members  of  the  parish.  In 
the  second  week  of  February,  1892,  Mrs.  Magdalena  Maus  sur- 
prised the  pastor  by  stating,  in  a  letter,  that  she  would  donate  a 
new  high  altar;  her  daughter,  Magdalena,  a  side  altar,  and  her 
daughter,  Josephine,  another  side  altar.  These  generous  acts 
induced  other  members  to  re-fresco  the  church,  and  within  three 
days  the  pastor  had  sufficient  cash  in  his  hands  for  this  purpose  — 
ten  members  of  the  parish  donating  $100  each,  several  $50,  and 
no  one  less  than  $25.  Sunday,  July  31.  1892,  the  new  altars  were 
blessed  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop,  and  the  pastor  thanked  Gud  and 
the  generous  benefactors. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  parochial  schools  of  St.  Mary's  have  alwaj's  been  first- 
class,  and  under  the  special  care  of  the  pastor,  who  has  made  the 
infant  class  free  to  all  Catholic  infants. 

In  1894,  the  congregation  paid  $4,125  to  the  city  for  sewers- 
and  asphalt  pavements  on  and  about  the  church  property. 

One  night  in  October,  1896,  burglars  entered  the  sacristy, 
opened  the  safe,  stole  one  chalice  and  two  ostensoriums.  The' 
news  spread  rapidly,  and  the  next  morning  a  good  and  pious  par- 
ishioner handed  over  to  the  pastor  a  roll  of  bank-notes,  the  gift  of 
himself  and  sister,  with  the  request  to  buy  a  new  chalice,  the  only 
condition  being  that  their  names  should  not  be  made  public.  The 
next  day,  Joseph  Renk  declared  himself  ready  to  purchase  and 
replace  the  small  ostensorium,  and  Miss  Magdalena  Maus  author- 
ized the  pastor  to  go  to  New  York  and  purchase  a  precious  osten- 
sorium, the  result  being  that  St.  Mary's  is  now  in  possession  of  the 
most  beautiful  Gothic  ostensorium  in  the  diocese.  The  congrega- 
tion is  now  entirely  out  of  debt,  and  has  a  few  thousand  dollars  on 
hand,  as  a  fund  from  which  a  new  church  may  be  built.  The 
earnest  prayer  of  the  grateful  pastor  is  that  God  may  bless  and 
preserve  the  good  and  generous  people  of  St.  Mary's. 

St.  Patrick's  Church,  Indianapolis,  was  at  first  named  St. 
Peter's  church.  The  Rev.  Aug.  Bessonies,  pastor  of  St.  John's, 
built  the  old  or  first  church  in  1865,  and  opened  it  for  divine 
service  on  the  29th  of  June.  It  is  located  near  the  southern 
terminus  of  Virginia  avenue. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Petit,  assistant  at  St.  John's,  became  the 
first  pastor.  In  June,  1869,  he  visited  Europe,  and  the  Rev.  P. 
R.  Fitzpatrick  took  charge  of  St.  Peter's.  In  the  year  following, 
1870,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  for  the  present  St.  Patrick's  church, 
and  the  building  completed  and  blessed  in  August,  1871.  The  old 
church  was  converted  into  school-rooms,  in  which  the  Sisters  of 
Providence  taught  the  girls  of  the  congregation.  In  June,  1879. 
Rev.  Patrick  McDermott  was  appointed  to  the  charge,  but  this 
worthy  priest  died  in  September,   1882. 

In  October,  1882,  the  Rev.  Hugh  O'Neill  was  appointed 
pastor    of    St.     Patrick's    church.      He    was    born   at    Dungarvan, 

(320r 


J»\* 


■^i 


ST.   PATRICK'S   CHURCH. 
INDIANAPOLIS,   IND. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

county  Waterford,  Ireland,  on  May  i8,  1838.  He  received  his 
classical  education  at  Dungarvan;  finished  his  theological  course 
at  St.  John's  college,  Waterford,  and  was  ordained  priest  at  St. 
Mary's  college,  Oscott.  Birmingham,  England,  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Dr.  Ulathorne  for  the  diocese  of  Nottingham.  He  served  part  of 
his  missionary  life  at  St.  Barnabas'  cathedral.  Eleven  years  he 
was  at  Ilkeston,  Derbyshire,  having  charge  of  several  missions. 
He  spent  four  years  at  Hathersage,  near  Sheffield;  in  April,  1882, 
he  landed  in  this  country  and  was  placed  at  St.  Joachim's  church, 
Frankford  (Philadelphia),  Pa.  In  October  of  the  same  year  he 
was  received  by  Bishop  Chatard  and  given  charge  as  above. 

St.  Patrick's  church  is  a  fine  brick  building,  about  i  10  feet 
long,  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  Gothic  style,  with  a  spire  of  neat 
design  over  the  intersection  of  the  transept. 

IRELAND,    DUBOIS   COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Church,  at  Ireland,  Dubois  county,  was  founded 
in  1890,  when  a  number  of  Catholics,  who  had  affiliated  in  St. 
Joseph's  parish,  at  Jasper,  Ind.,  concluded  to  establish  a  parish  of 
their  own  in  Ireland,  as  more  convenient  to  their  places  of  resi- 
dence. Consequently  these  few  ardent  and  faithful  members  of 
the  church  purchased  nineteen  and  one-half  acres  of  land  and 
burned  brick  to  be  used  in  the  erection  of  a  church-edifice,  but, 
after  further  reflection,  the  trustees  decided  to  sell  the  brick  and 
apply  the  proceeds  to  the  building  of  a  frame  church,  which  was 
completed  in  1891,  and  dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  Father  Fidelis 
being  the  first  priest  to  read  mass  in  the  new  edifice.  The  church- 
building  is  a  neat  structure  and  is  well  furnished,  and  an  annex  is 
devoted  to  school  purposes.  The  church  membership  comprises 
about  forty-two  families,  who  worship  under  the  guidance  of 
Father  Martin,  and  the  school,  which  is  under  the  direct  control 
of  the  worthy  pastor,  has  an  enrollment  of  about  thirty  pupils,  who 
are  taught  by  Miss  Lena  Burger.  The  priest's  house  is  a  tasteful 
modern  brick  cottage,  completed  in  1895,  and  the  entire  valuation 
of  the  church  property,  including  land  and  the  buildings  enumer- 
ated   above,    is    placed    at    $3,000.      Father    Martin,    the    present 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

pastor,  is  zealous  and    faithful,   and    prosperity  and   contentment 
reign  throughout  the  parish. 

JASPER,    DUBOIS    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church. — In  1834  only  two  or  three  Catholics 
were  found  at  Jasper,  but  several  Catholic  famihes  settled  here 
soon  after.  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais,  who  was  located  at  St. 
Mary's,  Daviess  county,  was  the  first  to  visit  the  congregation  in  a 
clerical  capacity.  A  small  log  house  on  the  banks  of  the  Patoka 
answered  for  a  church.  Father  de  St.  Palais  commended  the 
young  congregation  to  the  special  care  of  the  bishop,  who  sent  as 
the  first  resident  pastor  Rev.  Joseph  Kundek,  and  installed  him  at 
Jasper  in  1838,  the  congregation  at  that  time  numbering  fifteen 
families.  During  1840  and  1841,  he  built  the  large  brick  church 
with  hardly  any  money,  but  through  donations  of  labor  and  mate- 
rial. During  the  Easter  seasons.  Father  Kundek  extended  his 
labors  into  Madison,  Ind.,  and  into  Illinois.  In  1843,  in  order  to 
restore  his  health,  he  took  a  trip  to  New  Orleans,  and  in  that  city 
built  the  first  German  Catholic  church.  Returning  in  1844,  he 
laid  out  the  town  of  Ferdinand  and  erected  a  stone  church  with  the 
money  brought  from  New  Orleans.  About  this  time  he  built  a  log 
church  at  Fulda  and  a  small  brick  church  at  Troy.  In  1845  he 
built  the  court  house  at  Jasper  at  a  cost  of  $6,000. 

In  185  I  Father  Kundek  was  about  to  make  a  trip  to  Europe 
in  the  company  of  Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  when  he  stopped  over  at 
Madison  and  built  the  first  German  Catholic  church  there.  In  the 
autumn  he  follow^ed  the  bishop  to  France,  and  about  this  time  he 
was  appointed  vicar-general.  During  his  trip  he  visited  Einsiedeln, 
the  great  Benedictine  abbey,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  induce  the 
abbot  to  send  a  colony  of  Benedictines  to  the  diocese  of  Vincennes. 
He  returned  to  Jasper  in  1853  and  labored  most  zealously  until 
1857,  when  his  last  illness  came  upon  him,  and  where  he  died 
December  4,  1857.  His  memory  in  Jasper  and  the  surrounding 
country  will  remain  forever  in  benediction.  The  following  Bene- 
dictine Fathers  succeeded  Father  Kundek:  Rev.  P.  Bede  O'Con- 
nor, January  23,  1858,  to  November  20,  i860;  Rev.  P.  Ulrich 
Christen,    November  20,    i860,    to   February  22,    1865;    Rev.    P. 

(3227" 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


Wolfgang  Schlumpf,  February  22,  1865.  to  July  25.  1865.  and 
Rev.  Fidelis  Maute,  July  25,  1865,  to  June  22,  1897.  In  1868  the 
congregation   numbered  2,400  souls,  with  370  school  children. 

On  the    25th  day  of  March,   1847,  eleven    families  emigrated 
from  the   town   of  Pfaffenweiler,  Gross   Herzogthum.  Baden,  Ger- 
many, and  came  to  the    United  States  via  Rotterdam  and   Havre, 
landing  at  New  Orleans,  La.,    and  prominent   among  these  were 
the  Eckerts,  Becks,  Kieffers,  Schmidts,  Ecks,  Schubles  and  George 
Bauman,  a  sculptor.      The  voyage  was  a  perilous  one,  and  during 
the  hrst    week   of  its   progress   the   weather   was   so  tempestuous 
that   the  destination   of  'the   ship,  with   its   crew  and   passengers, 
promised   to    be  more    likely   the    bottom    of   the   Atlantic  ocean 
rather   than  the    port   of  New   Orleans.       In   this  extremity,    Mr. 
Bauman    made  a  vow  to   erect   a   cross   near   the  church  built,  or 
then  to  be    built,  by  the   congregation  with  which    he    might  make 
his  future  home,  and   this  vow  he  faithfully  fulfilled   after  reaching 
Jasper,  and  to-day  a  beautiful  specimen  of  the  sculptor's  art  stands 
on  the  south   side   of  St.  Joseph,  executed  by  this  faithful  son  of 
the   church,   through   the   pecuniary  aid   of  a   Mr.    Helm,    of  Tell 
City,  Frank  Beck  and  Joseph  Gramelspacher. 

Father  Maute  was  the  builder  of  the  new  church,  for  which 
the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  September  14, 
1 87 1.  The  church  stands  on  a  conspicuous  plat  of  ground  and  is 
built  entirely  of  blocks  of  stone,  parallelogrammatic  in  form, 
some  of  the  immense  blocks  of  stone  containing  sixty  cubic  feet. 
The  dimensions  of  the  church  are  190  feet  long,  eighty-four  feet 
wide  and  sixty-seven  feet  high.  Father  Fidelis  Maute  finished  the 
church  step  by  step,  not  desiring  to  incur  a  debt  on  his  congrega- 
tion. Many  a  day  P.  Fidelis,  in  company  with  the  trustees,  espe- 
cially Martin  Friedmann,  of  Jasper,  worked  in  the  stone  quarry, 
taking  their  simple  noonday  lunch  together  like  common  laborers. 
.  The  church  is  a  magnificent  and  solid  structure,  and  will  stand  as 
a  monument  long  after  the  death  of  the  builders,  when  other 
churches,  built  later,  will  have  crumbled  into  decay.  The  beauti- 
ful statues  and  altars  are  chiseled  out  of  the  purest  Italian  mar- 
ble.     The  cathedral  windows,  which  were  donated  by  members  of 


(323) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  congregation,  in  1898,  are  gems  of  the  rarest  beauty,  and  were 
furnished  by  American  artists  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Father  Stephen  Stenger,  the  present  priest,  succeeded  Father 
Fidelis  in  January,  1896,  and  is  a  gentleman  who  is  widely  known 
for  his  fidelity,  his  rare  scholarship  and  priestly  virtues,  and  is 
beloved  and  highly  respected  by  his  congregation,  which  numbers 
about  680  families,  with  an  attendance  of  2,800  or  3,000  souls. 
The  entire  church  property  of  the  Catholics  in  Jasper,  accounting 
for  money  given,  labor  and  material,  and  including  all  the  build- 
ings and  the  church,  may  safely  be  placed  at  $225,000.  Over 
$20,000  has  been  contributed  within  the  last  two  years,  1 897-1 898, 
for  main  altar  and  memorial  windows  and  school-rooms. 

The  parochial  schools  of  St.  Joseph  were  founded  in  1840, 
have  an  attendance  of  350  pupils,  and  are  presided  over  by  ten 
Sisters  of  Providence,  and  two  lay  teachers  for  boys,  and  are  under 
the  present  supervision  of  Father  Stenger. 

JEFFEKSONVILLE,    CLARK    COUNTY. 

St.  Anthony's  Parish  is  the  oldest  in  Jeffersonville,  Ind.,  and, 
prior  to  the  building  of  St.  Augustine's  church,  included  all  the 
Catholics  of  that  city  and  vicinity.  In  185 1  the  corner-stone  of 
St.  Anthony's  church  was  laid  by  Rev.  August  Bessonies,  now 
vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Vincennes.  The  church, .  located 
on  Canal  street  near  Maple,  was  a  modest  structure,  built  of  brick, 
and  remained  the  place  of  worship  of  the  faithful  of  St.  Anthony's 
parish  until  the  present  edifice  was  erected.  Bishop  Spalding,  of 
Louisville,  afterward  archbishop  of  Baltimore,  dedicated  the 
church  and  Father  Bessonies  was  the  first  pastor.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  Philip  Doyle  and  the  latter  by  Rev.  F.  Ostlang- 
enberg,  who  was  the  first  resident  priest,  and  resided  in  a  small 
frame  cottage,  purchased  for  that  purpose  and  situated  on  Maple 
street,  in  the  rear  of  the  church.  Father  Michael  was  the  next 
pastor.  For  a  time  during  the  war  there  was  no  regular  officiat- 
ing pastor,  and  priests  from  Louisville,  prmcipally  from  St.  Boni- 
face church,  held  services  at  St.  Anthony's. 

Later  on   the   bishop   of  Vincennes  placed   the   parish  in  the 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol"    INDIANA. 


hands  of  the  Franciscans,  O.  M.  C,  the  first  of  whom  was  the 
Rev.  Father  Bonaventura  Keller,  who  remained  until  1.S68.  After 
him  came  Father  Joseph  Liesen,  who  remained  until  1870  and 
who  purchased  the  site  on  Maple  and  Wall  streets  where  the  pres- 
ent church  is  situated,  as  well  as  the  Catholic  cemetery,  located 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  city. 

In  1871  Rev.  Avelin  S/abo  took  charge,  and  during  his  time 
did  much  in  the  way  of  reducing  the  indebtedness  contracted  in 
the  purchase  of  the  building  site.  In  1875  Father  Leopold  Mozy- 
gemba,  who  succeeded  Father  Clements  Luitz,  commenced  the 
erection  of  the  present  place  of  worship.  The  church  was  built  at 
a  cost  of  between  $8,000  and  $9,000  under  the  supervision  of 
Henry  Nagle,  Ferdinand  Voigt,  George  Unser,  Michael  Reckten- 
wald,  Engelbert  Spinner  and  Theobald  Manny,  building  committee. 
The  priests  after  Father  Leopold  came  in  the  following  order: 
Caesar  Cuchiarian,  1877-78;  Joseph  Liesen  (re-appointed),  1878- 
79;  Pius  Koetterer,  1879-81;  Anthony  Gehring.  1881-83;  Bernard 
Ettensperger,  1883-87;  Avelin  Szabo  (re-appointed),  1887-96; 
Francis  Newbauer,  from  February,  1896,  to  July,  1896;  Lucius 
Matt,   1896. 

Two  school-houses,  one  for  boys  and  the  other  for  girls,  have 
been  built  on  the  church  lot,  and  the  schools  are  flourishing  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Franciscan  Sisters. 

The  societies  are  the  St.  George's  Benevolent,  Roman  Ivnights 
of  St.  George,  and  the  Young  Ladies'  sodality  and  Altar  society. 
The  parish  has  furnished  two  members  of  the  priesthood,  both  of 
whom  have  joined  the  Franciscans,  O.  M.  C.  One,  the  Rev.  F. 
M.  Voigt,  is  the  pastor  of  Our  Lady  of  Angel's  church  of  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  and  the  other.  Rev.  Otto  Recktenwald,  is  assistant  at  the 
Assumption  church,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

The  present  pastor  of  St.  Anthony's,  Rev.  Father  Lucius 
Matt,  has  had  charge  of  the  parish  since  July,  1896,  and  during 
this  time  has  demonstrated  his  interest  in  the  welfare  and  success 
of  the  church.  He  has  added  valuable  and  lasting  improvements 
to  the  church  property  and  has  done  much  to  improve  and  beautify 
the  church-edifice,  as  well  as  to  completely  renovate  the  surround- 
ings.     He  has  also  extinguished  the  remaining  indebtedness  on  the 

"(325) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

church,  and  under  his  administration   St.   Anthony's  is  prosperous 
in  every  sense  of  the  word. 

St.  Augustine's  Church,  of  Jeffersonville,  although  new  in 
name,  was  founded,  in  reality,  as  far  back  as  1850,  Rev.  Daniel 
Maloney  being  the  first  to  say  mass  in  a  three-story  brick  building 
on  Front  street,  between  Pearl  and  Mulberry  streets,  said  building 
being  a  sort  of  hotel.  A  small  brick  building,  a  mere  chapel,  was 
put  up,  the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  on  the  loth  day  of 
August,  1 85 1,  St.  Lawrence  day,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Martin 
Spalding,  bishop  of  Louisville.  October  18,  185 1,  the  church, 
although  incomplete,  was  blessed  and  dedicated  to  St.  Anthony, 
and  mass  was  celebrated  by  Rev.  Otto  Jair. 

In  1852,  Father  Otto  Jair,  a  Franciscan  of  St.  Boniface's 
church.  Green  street,  Louisville,  was  again  invited  to  come  and 
celebrate  the  first  mass  in  the  still  incomplete  chapel,  for,  although 
there  was  a  chapel,  the  diocese  of  Vincennes  was  unable  to  send  a 
priest. 

On  the  17th  of  March,  1854,  Father  Aug.'  Bessonies,  late 
pastor  of  Fort  Wayne  (then  a  part  of  the  Vincennes  diocese), 
arrived  in  Jeffersonville.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
M.  de  St.  Palais,  and  by  him  left  in  charge  of  the  new  congrega- 
tion. There  being  no  dwelling  built  for  him.  Father  Bessonies 
took  his  lodgings  in  the  house  of  John  Burke,  a  merchant,  and  the 
leading  Catholic  in  the  city.  About  1855  or  1856,  he  erected  a 
small  brick  building  of  two  rooms  for  a  residence  as  a  wing  to  the 
church,  and  in  i860  these  rooms  were  used  as  the  parish  school. 
He  prepared  for  the  future  by  purchasing  wLh  his  own  private 
funds  two  large  lots  at  the  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Locust  streets, 
a  far  more  eligible  site  than  the  small  piece  of  ground  occupied  by 
the  temporary  church. 

Father  Bessonies  left  about  the  middle  of  November,  1857, 
being  replaced  by  Rev.  William  Doyle,  who  himself  was  replaced 
in  March,  1858,  by  his  brother.  Rev.  Philip  Doyle.  February, 
1 861 ,  Father  Schafroth  came  and  was  succeeded  by  Father  Abarth, 
who  stayed  until  December  of  that  year,  when  Father  Ostlangen- 
berg  was  appointed.    In  the  second  week  of  October,  1863,  Father 


IN    THE    STATli    Ul-     INDIANA. 

Bede  O'Connor,  a  Benedictine  monk  of  tlie  diocese,  j^ave  a  mission 
which  was  very  larj^^ely  attended,  many  bein^^  actually  crowded 
out  of  the  little  chapel.  At  once  Father  Ostlangenber^  prepared 
for  building  a  church  on  the  lots  bought  by  Father  Bessonies. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  October  i8,  1863,  this  second  time  by 
Bishop  Spalding,  of  Louisville. 

Scarcely  one  month  and  a   half  after    Father   Ostlangenberg 
left,  F"ather  Philip  Doyle  took  his   place,    January  i,    1864.      Rev. 
G.  A.  Michael  succeeded  him  in  a   few  weeks,  and  during  his  stay 
built  the  foundation.      After  him,  Father  Mougin,  of  New  Albany, 
built  the  walls  and  enclosed  the  church,  which  was  opened  for  serv- 
ice   and  blessed  by  Bishop  de   St.  Palais,  March  17,    St.  Patrick's 
day,   1868.      From  that  time  until  November,  1868,  the  holy  sacri- 
fice of  the  mass  was  celebrated   in  it  Sundays  for  the  whole  popu- 
lation by  the  clergy  of  New  Albany,    oftener  by  a  priest  who  could 
also  hear  the  confessions  of  the  Germans  and  address  a  few  words 
to  them  in  their  own  language.      At  the  close  of  November,  1868, 
Father  Fleischmann,  heretofore  only  an  assistant  to  the  pastor  of 
Holy  Trinity  church  in  New  Albany,  was  placed  in  charge.     He  did 
not  remain  a  week.  Rev.  E.  Audran,  of  the  cathedral  of  -Vincennes, 
having  been  sent  to  take  his  place.    After  a  consultation,  in  which 
the  newly  appointed    pastor   of    the  big  church— now   named   St. 
Augustine's  in  honor  of   its   benefactor.    Rev.    Aug.  Bessonies,  the 
first  resident  priest  of  the  city— took  part,  it   was  resolved  to  try  if 
a  permanent  German  congregation  could  not  be  formed. 

Franciscan  Fathers  of  the  Minor  Observance  (a  branch  of  the 
order  different  from  the  Brown  Franciscans  of  St.  Boniface  church 
in  Louisville),  had  lately  come  to  Louisville,  Ky. ,  and  there  started 
two  small  congregations.  As  they  were  desirous  of  undertaking  to 
do  more,  one  of  them,  an  Italian  who  spoke  some  German,  Father 
Joseph  Liesen,  was  invited  to  come  occasionally  on  Sundays  to  say 
mass  for  the  Germans  in  the  old  church.  He  came,  Sundays, 
from  Louisville  returning  home  every  time,  until,  finally,  the 
people  taking  heart,  the  succeeding  priest.  Rev.  Avelin  Szabo, 
ventured  to  reside  in  the  city  altogether.  With  a  view  to  aid  in 
providing  funds  by  the  sale  of  lots  and  graves,  one  member,  Henry 
Nagle,    bought,    mostly    with    his   own    means,  a   piece   of  ground 

1327) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

adjoining  the  city  for  a  Catholic  graveyard.  A  new  lot,  larger  and 
more  convenient  for  church  purposes,  was  soon  secured,  chiefly  by 
Mr.  Nagle's  efforts.  In  1876,  the  priest  then  in  charge,  Father 
Leopold  Moczygamba,  resolved  on  building  a  temporary  German 
church,  with  rooms  attached  in  the  rear  for  a  residence. 

As  the  preceding  lines  give  the  history  of  the  congregation  up 
to  Father  Audran's  time,  1868,  it  will  be  necessary  only  to  detail 
here  what  transpired  in  his  day.  Father  Audran  was  confronted 
with  not  only  an  unfinished  church,  but  with  what  was  worse,  a 
debt  of  $10,000.  The  openings  in  the  front  of  the  church  were 
simply  boarded  up,  and  the  tower  was  no  higher  than  the  walls. 
The  following  year  (1869)  he  finished  the  tower  at  a  cost  of  $3,000, 
and  in  five  years  paid  $5,000  of  the  debt. 

In  1869,  Father  Audran,  being  assured  of  the  aid  of  the  Sis- 
ters of  Providence,  gave  up  his  residence  to  the  Sisters,  who  began 
school  work  at  once.  In  the  meantime  the  good  Father  occupied 
the  house  of  a  neighbor  in  the  rear  of  the  church.  The  little 
school  opened  with  Sister  Gertrude  as  superior.  It  continued 
until  the  superior  of  the  order  visited  Jeffersonville  and  determined 
upon  the  purchase  of  a  residence  opposite  the  church,  which  is 
now  in  use  as  the  parish  school  for  girls,  185  attending.  The 
property  cost  $10,000,  and  was  bought  on  credit  at  ten  per  centum 
interest. 

In  1872  he  built  the  two-story  brick  school  for  boys,  at  a  cost 
of  $3,000.  It  is  40x20  feet,  and  accommodates  the  ninety  school 
boys  of  the  parish.  In  1873  the  pastor  was  absent  on  a  three 
months'  vacation  in  Europe,  during  which  time  Father  Szabo,  of 
St.  Anthony's  church,  Jeffersonville,  attended  to  the  wants  of  his 
people.  In  1874,  Father  Audran  finished  the  church  at  a  cost  of 
nearly  $9,000.  and  February  i  of  that  year  Bishop  St.  Palais  cele- 
brated pontifical  high  mass  and  blessed  the  sacred  edifice.  The 
same  year,  January  4,  1874,  the  congregation  was  solemnly  dedi- 
cated to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  pastoral 
residence,  a  neat  two-story  brick  structure  situated  on  a  lot  adjoin- 
ing the  church,  was  built  in  1884  at  a  cost  of  $4,200.  The  stone 
steps  and  platform  extending  the  entire  width  of  the  church  were 
laid  in  1881.      The  church  is  50x120  feet,    forty   feet  high,  with 

(828r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIAN/V 

arched  ceiling  of  varnished  southern  pine,  stained-glass  windows, 
and  plain  design  in  fresco.  The  furniture  is  neat  and  the  altars 
and  sanctuary  arc  quite  attractive,  inspiring  devotion  in  the 
beholder.  A  good  organ  and  a  very  tasty  pulpit  are  other  notable 
features  in  the  church.  The  church  property,  at  the  corner  of 
Chestnut  and  Locust  streets,  is  213  x  167  feet  in  dimensions.  It  is 
valued  at  $40,000.  St.  Augustine's  Debt  Paying  society  was 
organized  August  i.  1886.  At  the  initial  meeting  the  following 
officers  were  elected:  President,  Patrick  Herron;  vice-president, 
Michael  Connelly;  treasurer,  John  Craig;  secretary,  P.  C.  Dono- 
van; assistant  secretary,  J.  B.  Murphy.  The  object  of  the  society, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  to  raise  by  monthly  contributions,  voluntary 
.donations,  and  other  means,  the  necessary  amount  to  pay  off  the 
entire  indebtedness  of  St.  Augustine's  church. 

Up  to  January  i,  1890,  there  had  been  received  in  monthly 
contributions  and   donations  1^2,722.30;    from    fair   in   December, 

1887,  $857.60;  lawn  fete,  June,   1888,    $59;   river   excursion,  July, 

1888,  $171.35;  fair,  October,  1888,  $1,414.18,  making  a  total  of 
$5,224,43.  The  amount  of  expenditures  for  the  same  period  were, 
principal  on  notes,  $3,477;  interest,  $1,203.55;  insurance,  $290; 
coal,  $95;  stationery  and  printing,  $46.70,  and  incidental  expenses, 
$29.50 — the  total  amount  of  expenditures  being  $5,141.75,  leav- 
ing a  balance  in  the  treasury  January  i,  1890,  of  $82.68. 

The  society  at  present  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  the 
voluntar}-  contributions  averaging  about  $55  per  month. 

JENNINGS   COUNTY. 

St.  Ann's  Church,  Jennings  county,  Ind. ,  dates  its  first  records 
back  to  1840,  the  name  of  Rev.  William  Chartier  being  the  first  to 
appear  on  the  books,  although  a  small  log  church  had  existed  here 
since  1835.  Whether  the  little  church,  in  the  center  of  an 
immense  forest,  was  built  by  him  does  not  appear.  Rev.  Vincent 
Bacquelin  was  here  in  1842;  Rev.  P.  Mueller,  O.  P.,  also  in  1842. 
In  1843  Rev.  Julius  Delaune,  Rev.  Roman  Weinzoepfel  and  Rev. 
J.  N.  Mullen,  O.  S.  A.  The  church  was  attended  by  Father 
Delaune  in  1S45  ^"^1  1846. 


20 


(329) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Rev.  Alphonse  Munschina  was  the  first  resident  pastor  from 
1846  until  1854.  He  worked  hard,  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word, 
to  advance  the  interests  of  the  mission.  Rev.  P.  Kreusch  attended 
in  i854andi855.  In  81  55  and  1856  Rev.  A.  Carius,  Father  Kreusch 
again,  and  also  Rev.  Leonard  Brandt,  visited  the  people.  These 
priests  resided  at  Madison. 

On  July  26,  1859,  Rev.  B.  H.  Schultes,  who  had  been  the 
resident  pastor  from  1856,  died  suddenly.  His  grave  is  in  St. 
Ann's  cemetery.  Rev.  J.  M.  Missi  became  the  pastor  on  Decem- 
ber 24,  1859,  and  remained  such  until  January  5,  1868,  when  his 
name  appears  for  the  last  time  on  the  books.  It  was  Father  Missi 
who  built  the  present  large  and  handsome  brick  church  under  the 
greatest  dif^culties,  spending  a  good  deal  of  his  own  money  and 
working  with  his  own  hands.  The  people  say  that  "he  made 
more  than  one-fourth  of  the  bricks  in  the  church."  The  building 
was  under  roof  when  he  left  it  in  1868,  with  no  debts  on  it. 

Father  Missi's  successor  was  the  Rev.  Lawrence  Osterling,  O. 
M.  C.  He  pushed  the  good  work  bravely  forward.  He  had  the 
church  plastered,  altars  and  pulpit  built,  and  the  interior  of  the 
church  beautifully  ornamented.  In  1872  he  erected  a  new  parson- 
age. He  was  a  zealous,  pious  priest,  and  a  true  pastor  of  his  Hock. 
He  died  on  the  9th  of  February,  1877,  consumed  by  his  labors,  only 
tifty-four  years  of  age.  He  was  buried  in  the  church  in  front  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin's  altar,  and  a  monument  was  erected  in  1880. 

Rev.  F.  X.  Seegmuller  was  pastor  from  August,  1877,  until 
June,  1879.  Rev.  John  Nep.  Wernich  took  charge  on  July  5, 
1880.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  Elbing,  in  the  province  of 
Ermland,  Prussia,  on  February  21,  1846.  He  studied  at  the 
gymnasium  in  Elbing  from  1855  to  1861,  then  in  Braunsberg  until 
1864;  having  finished  his  theological  studies  in  the  Paderborn  semi- 
nary, and  having  received  minor  orders  in  1868,  he  was  ordained 
priest  on  September  30,  1868.  He  spent  the  first  five  years  of  his 
ministry  in  the  missions  of  western  Missouri.  Having  nearly 
destroyed  his  health  there,  he  returned  to  his  native  country  and 
was  appointed  pastor  of  the  parish  of  Olivia.  The  Prussian'.gov- 
ernment  not  recognizing  the  bishop's  appointment,  he  returned  to 
this  country  June  16,  1880.      Two  weeks  after  he  became  the  pas- 


IN    THH    STAT1-:    OF    INDIANA. 

tor  of  St.  Ann's,  workin;;    hard    and    in   every   way  furthering  the 
interests  of  his  congregation. 

Following  Father  Wernich  came  Father  Alois  DanenhofYer, 
who  was  in  turn  succeeded  by  the  Very  Rev.  E.  Faller.  Father 
Faller,  however,  is  the  benefactor  of  St.  Ann's  church.  Within 
the  short  space  of  one  year  he  built  a  brick  school-house,  enlarged 
the  parsonage,  erected  the  large  steeple  on  the  church,  bought 
three  bells,  etc,  and  for  all  these  improvements  he  paid  from  his 
own  means  nearly  $7,000. 

The  present  pastor,  Rev.  A.  J.  Urich,  took  charge  of  St.  Ann 
July  16,  1886.  He  at  once  set  about  to  pay  off  a  debt  of  $1,100, 
in  which  he  succeeded,  and  then  made  other  necessary  improve- 
ments. He  fenced  in  the  church  property,  had  the  parsonage  and 
school-house  decorated  and  furnished,  and  bought  vestments,  etc. 
The  church  property  now  is  valued  at  about  $20,000. 

Father  A.  J.  Urich  was  born  on  February  17,  1863,  at  St. 
Joseph,  Vanderburg  county,  Ind.  He  pursued  his  studies  at  St. 
Meinrad,  and  was  ordained  at  Ferdinand  June  19,  1886,  by  Bishop 
F.  S.  Chatard.  St.  Ann  is  his  first  congregation.  The  congrega- 
tion now  numbers  ninety  families,  mostly  of  German  descent. 

KENDALLVILLE,  NOBLE  COUNTY. 

The  Immaculate  Conception  Church. — Prior  to  1866,  the  peo- 
ple of  Kendallville  who  professed  the  Catholic  faith  attended 
church  at  Avilla,  then  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechter- 
ing.  This  clergyman,  in  the  year  named,  bought  the  structure 
owned  by  the  Baptist  congregation  at  Kendallville  for  $2,500,  and 
this  was  used  by  the  Catholics  until  the  coming  of  Father  Dueh- 
mig,  who  paid  for  the  dilapidated  building  and  nearly  rebuilt  it, 
converting  it  into  a  respectable  house  of  worship,  36  x  56  feet,  put 
in  new  altars,  etc.,  and  added  a  vestry,  priest's  rooms,  etc.  The 
congregation  continued  to  be  a  mission  of  Avilla  until  1897,  when  it 
was  placed  in  charge  of  St.  Patrick's  church  at  Ligonier. 

KENTLAND,    NEWTON    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church. — Early  in  the  'sixties  there  were  a  num- 
ber of   Catholic  families  living  in  the  vicinity  of    Kentland  and  the 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

first  priest  to  visit  them  was  from  Logansport.  Services  were 
held  in  the  court  house  at  intervals  until  1864, -when  Rev.  J.  A. 
Stephan,  who  was  stationed  at  Rensselaer,  took  charge  of  the  mis- 
sion, visiting  the  same  once  a  month,  and  holding  services  at  the 
court  house  and  Kent's  hotel,  and  during  the  same  year  built  the 
first  church,  a  wooden  structure,  40x60  feet,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$1,000.  The  site,  two  acres,  for  this  church  was  donated  by 
Ale.x  J.  Kent,  a  Protestant.  Mr.  Kent  also  donated  five  acres,  one 
mile  south  from  town,  for  a  Catholic  cemetery. 

At  this  time  there  were  twenty-five  or  thirty  Catholic  families 
living  within  a  radius  of  twelve  miles  of  Kentland.  Among  the 
first  Catholic  families  to  settle  here,  however,  were  those  of 
Anthony  Dehner,  P.  I).  Gallagher,  Terrence  Cunningham  and 
John  Ryan. 

In  1870,  Rev.  Anthony  Messman  took  charge  as  the  first  resi- 
dent priest,  but  as  there  was  no  parsonage,  he  made  his  home 
with  John  H.  Smith.  In  1871  he  built  an  addition  to  the  church 
and  made  other  improvements,  and  in  1872  he  built  a  brick  par- 
sonage. In  1 88 1,  Rev.'  Baumgartner  took  charge;  in  1883,  Rev. 
William  Miller;  in  1892,  Rev.  Charles  Ganser,  the  present  priest, 
was  placed  in  charge.  In  1890-1891,  the  present  brick  edifice 
was  built,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  600.  The  building,  furniture 
and  decorations  cost  $20,000.  and  the  church  is  handsomely  fur- 
nished and  decorated,  is  out  of  debt,  and  at  least  500  communi- 
cants partake  of  the  holy  sacrament.  The  old  church  building 
has  been  transformed  into  a  school-house,  which  is  in  charge  of 
three  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  from  LaFayette  and  is  attended  by 
about  forty-one  pupils. 

KLAASVILLE,    LAKH  COrNTV. 

St.  Anthony  de  Padua  Congregation  was  organized  during  the 
late  Civil  war  by  Bishop  John  Henry  Luers,  and  soon  afterward  a 
neat  frame  church-building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,000. 
Henry  Klaas,  Sr. ,  was  largely  instrumental  in  securing  the  con- 
struction of  this  building,  being  assisted  in  the  task  by  the  co-opera- 
tion of  many  good  Catholics,  such  as  the  families:  Haase,  Berg, 
Moenix,  Reineke  and  Hepp,  in  Indiana,  and  by  others   in   Illinois, 


IN    THE    STAT1-:    Ol"    INDIANA. 

across  the  state  line.  St.  Anthony  de  Padua  congregation  was 
attended  from  St.  Jc^hn's,  and  Hanover  Center,  by  Fathers  Nigh, 
Wehrle,  Fuchs,  Kin^,  Rensen,  Kachor,  Siegelack  and  Deimel.  and 
by  Rev.  j.  H.  Ikithe,  the  first  resident  pastor,  who  was  followed 
by  Fathers  Ganser,  Weber,  and  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  A.  M. 
Buchheit,  who  took  charge  July  29,  1895.  Up  to  this  time,  Lowell 
had  been  a  mission  attached  to  St.  Anthony's,  but  in  October  of 
that  \ear  it  was  attached  to  St.  Augustine's  of  Rensselaer.  At  the 
start,  the  members  of  St.  Anthony's  congregation  was  comprised 
of  twenty  families;  it  now  numbers  twenty-nine,  who  are  all  West- 
phalians,  and  all  well  to  do,  many  ow^ning  fine  farms.  The  church 
grounds  comprise  six  acres,  on  which  are  located  the  church  build- 
ing, a  neat  parsonage  the  residence  of  the  Sisters,  and  the  ceme- 
tery. The  school  is  attended  by  about  thirty-five  pupils,  who  are 
in  charge  of  two  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  of  Joliet. 

KNOX    COUNTY. 

St.  Rose  Church  is  situated  about  eight  miles  south  of  \'in- 
ceniies,  about  midway  between  that  city  and  St.  Fra/acisville,  in 
Illinois.  The  church  was  erected  about  1842  and  is  a  frame 
structure  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  At  the  time  the  church  was 
erected  a  very  large  number  of  French  Catholics  resided  in  that 
part  of  Knox  county,  both  above  and  below  that  part  of  the  Wa- 
bash river  called  "  Faux  Chenal. "  It  was  to  accommodate  these 
that  the  church  was  built.  But  the  number  of  Catholics  in  that 
vicinity  has  gradually  diminished  by  the  wasting  away  of  the  old 
stock  of  French,  and  emigration,  until  at  present  the  number  of 
Catholics  there  is  greatly  reduced.  St.  Rose  never  had  a  resident 
pastor,  but  it  was  supplied  every  two  weeks  from  the  cathedral  in 
Vincennes.  Within  the  last  few  \ears  the  resident  pastor  of  St. 
Thomas  has  also  officiated  at  St.   Rose. 

St.  Thomas'  Church  was  built  about    1850,  and  is  situated  on 

a  prairie  about  eight  miles  southwest   of   Vincennes.      The  church 

is  located  on  a  forty-acre  tract  of  land,   and    is   a   frame    structure, 

well  built  and  in  good    condition.       The    congregation   worshiping 

'here  is  largely  composed  of    Germans   and    French,  and   is  rapidly 

"(385) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

increasing.  This  church  had  no  resident  pastor  for  many  years, 
but  was  regularly  attended  either  from  the  Highland  Orphan  asy- 
lum, or  the  \'incennes  cathedral.  About  four  years  ago  Rev.  John 
F.  Stanton  was  appointed  resident  pastor.  He  at  once  had  a 
large  and  substantial  pastoral  residence  erected,  he  made  many 
improvements  both  to  the  church  and  grounds,  until  St.  Thomas'  is 
now  one  of  the  best  country  churches  in  this  section.  The  pres- 
ent pastor  is  the  Rev.  Joseph  T.  Sennefeld. 

KOKOMO,     HOWARD    COl  NTV. 

St.  Patrick's  Church  at  Kokomo  ha?  an  interesting  history, 
indeed.  This  church  is  not  \et  fort\-  \ears  old,  but  in  this  brief 
period  its  upbuilding  has  been  remarkable.  Back  in  the  'fifties 
there  were  but  a  few  Catholic  families  in  Kokomo,  the  sparse 
mission  being  visited  by  priests  from  Indianapolis  and  other  points 
for  the  celebration  of  mass  and  the  baptism  of  infants.  Among 
these  early  mission  visitors  were  Fathers  Maloney  and  Doyle. 
The  first  efforts  at  establishing  a  mission  and  organization  was 
begun  by  good  Father  Hamilton  in  1859,  in  which  year  he  secured 
a  tract  of  ground  which  was  consecrated  for  church  purposes,  and 
the  following  year  witnessed  the  erection  of  the  old  church.  At 
that  time  there  were  barely  a  dozen  Catholic  heads  of  families  in 
Kokomo.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  those  of  Cornelius  Mc- 
Carty,  John  Conklin,  Michael  McGlynn,  John  Sullivan,  Mark  Mc- 
Teague  and  the  Walters  and  McLaughlin  families.  After  the 
establishment  of  this  mission  there  was  a  period  of  more  than  ten 
years,  during  which  period  it  experienced  numerous  changes  in 
spiritual  direction.  The  first  to  follow  Father  Hamilton  was 
Father  Force,  then  Father  Kroeger,  both  of  whom  attended  the 
church  from  Peru.  Then  there  were  Feather  Borg  and  Father 
Seegar,  who  also  attended  the  mission  for  awhile,  and  others. 
The  first  resident  pastor  was  Rev.  Patrick  Frauley,  who  served 
from  September.  1869,  to  October,  1871,  during  which  time  he 
added  a  vestrx'  to  the  mission  church.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Father  J.  H.  O'Brien,  who,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  b\' Father  John 
Grogan  in  June,    1872.      It   was   the   next   year,    in   September,    of 


IX    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

1873,  that  thi'  present  beloved  pastor,    Rev.    Francis  Lordemann. 
came. 

The  con^^aegation  had  increased  by  this  time  to  a  somewhat 
more  pretentious  force,  and  when  Feather  Lordemann  took  charge 
comprised  about  fifty  famiHes.  The  pastor  at  once  set  about 
improxing  the  property,  and  in  1874  the  commodious  parochial 
residence  was  built,  additional  grounds  were  purchased,  the  old 
church  moved  to  an  adjoining  lot  and  its  former  site  prepared  for 
the  erection  of  a  more  suitable  house  of  worship.  This  edifice  was 
completed  in  1877  at  a  cost  of  about  $20,000.  In  dimensions  it 
is  56X  I  15  feet,  and  had  an  original  seating  capacity  of  650,  which 
has  since  been  largely  increased  by  supplemental  pews,  and  three 
new  altars  ha\e  also  been  supplied  since.  An  adjoining  lot  was 
acquired  in  1893,  and  the  next  year  saw  the  completion  of  St. 
Francis  academy  at  a  cost  of  $7,000.  This  admirable  school  is 
ably  presided  over  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  four  in  number, 
a  thorough  course  of  instruction  is  given,  and  large  classes  are 
graduated  each  year. 

The  congregation  of  St.  Patrick's  church  at  Kokomo  is  for- 
tunate in  not  having  been  compelled  to  bear  the  burden  of  an 
excessive  debt,  the  indebtedness  ne\er  having  exceeded  $4,000, 
and  is  at  present  less  than  $2,000,  that  being  on  the  school  build- 
ing and  Father  Lordemann,  being  an  excellent  financier,  has 
skilfully  arranged  for  funds  to  meet  this  small  indebtedness.  St. 
Patrick's  church  is  in  a  flourishing  condition,  is  strong  financially, 
and  is  rapidly  growing  in  the  number  of  its  families.  It  owns 
ground  fronting  430  feet  on  the  west  side  of  Washington  street, 
between  Broadway  and  North  streets,  and  its  buildings  are  in 
admirable  condition.  There  are  in  the  parish  branches  of  the 
Catholic  Benevolent  legion,  Total  Abstinence  society.  Rosary 
society.  Young  Ladies  sodality  and  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians, 
all  of  which  have  a  large  membership. 

The  original  school  attached  to  St.  Patrick's  church  at 
Kokomo  was  organized  in  1874  by  Father  Lordemann,  and  was 
partitioned  off  by  boards  each  morning  after  mass  from  the  audi- 
torium of  the  church  proper.  The  attendance  numbered  about 
thirty-five   pupils,  but  in  1877,  the   church-building  was  remodeled 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

into  a  school-building,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  130  pupils, 
although  the  number  of  attendants  did  not  exceed  sixty.  But  the 
number  of  pupils  continued  to  increase,  and  in  1894  a  new  school- 
building  was  erected,  40x65  feet  on  ground  plan  and  two  stories 
in  height.  The  cost  of  the  building,  ground  and  equipment  is 
estimated  at  $11,000,  and  the  attendance  numbers  about  128. 
These  pupils  are  under  the  charge  of  three  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph, 
of  Tipton,  and  are  graded  up  to  the  instruction  given  in  the  state 
high  schools. 

LAFAYETTE,    TIPPECANOE   COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Church. — In  the  year  1808  Pope  Pins  \TI  erected 
Bardstown,  Ky.,  into  an  episcopal  see,  and  two  years  afterward 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget  became  its  first  bishop. 
Indiana,  owing  to  its  nearness,  became  a  portion  of  the  new  dio- 
cese. In  1834  the  Catholics  had  tiocked  into  this  state  in  such 
numbers  that  it  was  found  impossible  for  the  bishop  in  Kentucky 
to  attend  the  many  calls  made  upon  him  in  Indiana,  and  it  was 
found  necessary  to  erect  a  new  diocese  in  the  latter  state.  Its  see 
was  fixed  at  Vincennes,  and  comprised  the  whole  state. 

The  city  of  LaFayette  was  laid  out  in  1825,  and  in  1840 
Catholics  of  pluck,  energy  and  enterprise — among  whom  may  be 
mentioned  Owen  Ball,  Judge  John  Connolly  and  James  H.  Mc- 
Kernan — petitioned  the  bishop  for  a  visiting  priest,  showing  that 
there  were  at  least  fifteen  Catholic  families  in  LaFayette.  In  con- 
sequence, the  Rev.  Augustus  Martin,  afterward  bishop  of  Natchi- 
toches, La.,  came  down  from  Logansport  for  a  short  time. 
He  was  soon  replaced  in  these  periodical  visits  by  his  assistant. 
Father  Francis,  and  he  in  his  turn  was  replaced  by  Father  Lalu- 
miere,  of  Terre  Haute.  Mass  in  those  days  was  offered  up  in  the 
houses  of  different  members  of  the  congregation.  In  1843  the 
bishop  of  \'incennes  sent  to  LaFayette,  as  the  first  resident  priest, 
the  Rev.  Michael  Clark,  who  rented  from  Mr.  Benbridge  a  small 
room  located  on  Fourth  street,  just  south  of  the  present  govern- 
ment building.  The  fifteen  families  had  now  increased  to  twenty- 
five. 

In  1844  the  little  church  on  Fourth  street   was  entirely  too 


IN    THE    STATi:    Ol      INDIANA. 

small  to  hold  all  the  worshipers.  Property  was  innv  purchased  on 
the  corner  of  F'ifth  and  Brown  streets,  and  in  the  same  year  the 
building  of  St.  Mary's  and  Martha's  church  was  begun  and  pushed 
to  completion  at  a  cost  of  upward  of  $10,000.  It  was  by  far  the 
handsomest  church  edifice  in  LaFayette,  and  regarded  as  superior 
to  all  in  northern  Indiana. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Father  Clark,  covering  a  period  of 
about  fourteen  years,  a  parsonage  was  also  built  in  the  rear 
of  the  church,  which  was  afterward  destroyed  by  tire.  Seeing 
at  that  early  day  the  necessity  of  a  school  for  the  children  under 
his  charge,  he  built  one  on  the  ruins  of  the  destroyed  pastoral 
residence,  which  became  the  nucleus  of  the  present  flourishing 
schools  attached  to  St.  Mary's  church.  Father  Clark,  after  work- 
ing long  and  successfully  in  Lafayette,  went  to  Bloomington,  111., 
where  he  died  full  of  years  and  good  works  as  pastor  of  the  Catho- 
lic congregation. 

Rev.  Father  Maloney  succeeded  Father  Clark  in  i<S57,  and 
remained  in  charge  but  a  year  and  a  half.  At  this  juncture  it  was 
decided  that  the  growing  congregation  in  the  upper  half  of  the 
state  justified  the  erection  of  an  episcopal  see  there.  The  Rt. 
Rev.  J.  H.  Luers,  a  priest  of  Cincinnati,  was  selected  bishop  by 
Pope  Pius  IX,  with  Fort  Wayne  as  the  place  of  his  residence.  He 
was  consecrated  on  January  loth,  1858.  LaFayette  soon  attracted 
his  attention,  and  such  were  then  the  prospects  of  the  cit}-,  and  so 
well  was  he  pleased  with  the  flourishing  state  of  the  church  there, 
that  he  contemplated  fixing  his  permanent  residence  there.  But 
after  a  year's  stay,  and  after  the  failure  of  several  negotiations 
regarding  the  purchase  of  an  eligible  site  for  a  cathedral,  school 
and  residence,  he  returned  to  Fort  Wayne.  On  the  withdrawal  of 
Bishop  Luers,  Father  Maloney  also  left  LaFayette,  going  to  Indi- 
anapolis in   1859. 

In  July,  1859,  the  Rev.  Edmund  B.  Kilro}-,  until  then  pastor 
of  St.  Joseph's  church,  Laporte,  Ind.,  succeeded  to  the  \acant 
pastorate.  In  i860  the  Catholic  citizens  of  Lafayette  welcomed 
the  Sisters  of  Providence,  from  Terre  Haute,  as  laborers  in  the 
cause  of  Catholic  education.  Their  school  was  first  opened  with 
about  eighty  scholars,  on  Fifth  street. 

~mT) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Old  St.  Mary's  and  Martha's  church,  on  the  corner  of  Fifth 
and  Brown  streets,  had  become  entirely  too  small  to  hold  the 
large,  ever-increasing  congregation,  and  Fifth  street,  now  traversed 
by  an  important  line  of  railroad,  unfitted  it  for  church  purposes. 
At  this  juncture  Lawrence  B.  Stockton,  having  come  into  posses- 
sion of  that  plat  of  ground  known  as  Seminary  Hill,  proposed  to 
donate  a  sufficient  number  of  lots  for  the  proposed  new  church. 
His  offer  was  accepted,  and  Father  I\ilro\  urged  the  Sisters  to  build 
their  academy  upon  part  of  this  donation.  In  i860  the  present  St. 
Ignatius  academy  building  was  begun,  and  completed  at  a  cost 
of  $20,000. 

As  soon  as  the  Sisters  were  located  in  their  new  house  and 
school,  plans  were  made  for  the  new  St.  Mar\'s  church,  and  the 
excavation  commenced.  It  was  a  herculean  task  to  grade  the  site, 
and  cost  a  sufficient  sum  to  build  an  ordinary  church.  The  founda- 
tion was  laid  in  1861.  Now  the  call  to  arms  sounded  throughout 
the  United  States,  and  Father  Kilroy  was  appointed  by  the  governor 
to  look  after  the  interests,  spiritual  and  temporal,  of  Indiana's 
troops  in  the  field.  His  acceptance  necessitated  a  new  appoint- 
ment to  the  pastorate  of  St.  Mary's  church. 

Rev,  George  A.  Hamilton,  a  Kentuckian,  was  appointed  to  the 
charge.  A  seemingly  hopeless  task  presented  itself  to  him.  Yet, 
in  the  short  space  of  five  years  the  church  was  built  and  dedicated, 
at  a  cost  of  $60,000,  over  and  above  that  which  had  been  expended 
on  the  foundation.  The  present  pastoral  residence  was  built  at  an 
outlay  of  over  $8,000,  and  the  boys"  school,  facing  on  South  street, 
constructed  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  During  the  eleven  years  of  his 
pastorate  Father  Hamilton  moreover  erected  St.  Ann's  chapel  and 
school  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  and  bought  twelve  acres  of 
land  for  the  enlargement  of  St.  Mary's  cemetery  in  Elston. 
Exhausted  by  his  labors  for  the  welfare  of  his  congregation,  he 
died  in  April,   1875. 

Rev.  M.  E.  Campion  succeeded  Father  Hamilton,  with  the 
Rev.  M.  M.  Hallinan,  D.  D.,  as  his  assistant.  After  o\er  four 
years  of  efficient  ministry.  Feather  Campion  desired  a  change,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  M.  Noll.  His  career  was  cut  short  by 
death  after  one  month. 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol'    INDIANA. 

Now  the  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  pastor  of  St.  Mary's 
church.  l"\)rt  Wayne,  was  sent  by  Kishop  Dwenger  to  take  up  the 
burden  of  his  predecessors  in  LaFayette.  His  management  was 
marked  by  /.eal  and  prudence,  and  gained  him  the  respect  and  sin- 
cere good  will  of  the  people.  In  1883  Father  Rademacher  was 
appointed  bishop  of  Nashville.  Tenn..  and  in  1894.  after  Bishop 
Dwenger's  death,  he  succeeded  to  the  bishopric  of  Fort  Wayne. 

In  June.  1883,  Rev.  E.  P.  W^alters  succeeded  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Rademacher  at  St.  Mary's  church.  LaFayette.  Under  his  zealous 
and  prudent  management  the  church  was  put  in  e.xcellent  repair 
and  embellished  with  beautiful  fresco  painting;  artistic  stained' 
glass  paintings  were  put  into  the  wind9ws.  new  confessionals  were 
erected  and  a  steam  heating  apparatus  set  up.  Beside.  St. 
Mary's  cemetery  was  put  in  excellent  order— all  without  incurring 
any  debt.  Father  Walters,  for  whom  a  great  many  years  and 
ecclesiastical  honors  of  a  higher  degree  seemed  in  store,  died  after 
a  few  months'  illness  on  June  12,    1894. 

On  August  4th  of  the  same  year  the  Very  Rev.  J.  R.  Dinnen. 
pastor  of  St.  Bernard's  church,  Crawfordsville,  was  appointed  to 
the  rectorship  of  St.  Mary's  church.  It  may  be  remarked  here, 
that  on  January  i,  1887,  St.  Mary's  was  made  an  "immovable 
rectorate,"  giving  its  incumbent  life  tenure  of  the  office.  Father 
Dinnen,  who  is  also  dean  of  the  LaFayette  district  and  member 
of  the  bishop's  council,  soon  won  the  love  and  confidence  of  his 
parishioners.  He  improved  the  pastoral  residence,  making  a  num- 
ber of  -necessary  repairs,  and  bought  the  boys'  school  on  South 
street  for  the  congregation. 

A  great  and  long  desired  improvement  was  begun  in  the  fall 
of  1897,  and  brought  to  a  successful  issue  in  the  following  spring; 
the  tower  and  spire  of  the  church  were  completed  at  the  cost  of 
about  $s,ooo,  the  stately  edifice  thereby  receiving  its  crowning 
glory. 

St.  Bonifiace's  church. — The  origin  of  St.  Boniface's  church 
dates  back  to  1853,  when  the  number  of  Catholic  Germans  in 
LaFayette  had  increased  to  such  an  e.xtent  that  a  meeting  was 
called  on  Christmas.   1853.  and    a   building  society  was  organized 

^339) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  German  congregation  and  erecting 
a  church.  Two  lots  on  Tenth  street  were  purchased  for  $1,400, 
and  St.  Boniface's  church,  a  substantial  brick  building,  was  erected 
during  the  following  year  at  a  cost  of  $7,000.  In  1863  the  con- 
gregation had  become  so  numerous  that  it  was  decided  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  members  to  erect  a  large,  new  church  on  the  corner  of 
Ninth  and  North  streets. 

Even  before  the  formation  of  the  congregation  into  a  separate 
parish  the  Germans  in  LaFayette  were  occasionally  visited  by  Rev. 
Carius,  of  Logansport.  In  1853,  the  Rev.  Philip  Doyle,  who 
spoke  German  fluently,  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  new  congre- 
gation. He  organized  the  building  society,  with  Herman  \\'ilken 
as  president;  John  Meyer  as  vice-president,  Conrad  Scheie,  secre- 
tary, and  Anthony  Korty,  treasurer,  together  with  seventy-seven 
charter  members.  Father  Doyle  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Pinkers. 
during  whose  pastorate  a  brick  school-building  was  erected  on 
Ferry  street.  Up  to  1863,  Revs.  Neuber,  Wehmhoff  and  Stephan 
followed  each  other  in  the  order  named  as  pastors  of  the  congre- 
gation. The  latter  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Deipenbrock,  under 
whom  the  new  church  was  built. 

This  church,  a  spacious  brick  edifice  of  the  Gothic  order  of 
architecture,  155  feet  long  by  60  feet  wide,  was  completed,  except 
tower  and  spire,  in  1865,  at  a  cost  of  $28,762. 

In  1866  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  J.  H.  Luers  placed  St.  Boni- 
face's church  in  charge  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers  of  the  province 
of  Cincinnati,  who  sent  Fathers  Venantius  Arnold  and  William 
Gausepohl,  the  former  as  pastor,  the  latter  as  assistant.  In  1867 
a  two-story  brick  school-building  was  erected  on  the  foundation  of 
the  old  church  on  Tenth  street  at  a  cost  of  $4,300.  The  new 
church  was  furnished  with  stained  glass  windows  and  a  magnifi- 
cent high  altar.  In  1869  Rev.  Denis  Abarth,  O.  S.  F.,  was  placed 
in  charge,  but  retired  on  account  of  ill  health  in  1870.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Accursius  Beine,  O.  S.  F. ,  who  had  the  church 
furnished  with  a  splendid  large  pipe-organ  and  two  beautiful  Gothic 
side-altars.  In  1 871  the  congregation  purchased  the  lot  in  the 
rear  of  the  church  for  $1,600,  and  built  the  present  parsonage  at  a 
cost  of  $5,000.      In    1878    Father   Beine  was   succeeded   by    Rev. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Agnellus    Fisher,    who   had    charge   of  the  congregation    till    1882, 
when  he  returned  to  Europe. 

Rev.  Daniel  Heile  was  then  appointed  pastor.  The  school- 
rooms having  become  too  crowded,  he  undertook,  in  1883, the 
erection  of  the  two-story  brick  school-building  on  Ninth  street, 
adjoining  the  church,  which  was  completed  and  furnished  at  a  cost 
of  $7,300.  In  1885  a  Sisters'  dwelling  was  built  on  the  corner  of 
Tenth  and  Ferry  streets,  for  $2,500.  In  July,  1887,  the  contract 
for  the  completion  of  the  tower  and  spire  was  awarded  to  John 
Duerwaldt,  who  finished  his  work  on  the  I2th  of  September  fol- 
lowing, aided  by  the  sub-contractors,  Theodore  Wahl,  masonry; 
Campbell  &  Moore,  tin  work  and  slating;  Joseph  Biehn,  iron  work; 
Nicholas  Reiffers  and  Andrew  Loges,  painting.  The  spire,  sur- 
mounted by  a  beautiful  gilt  cross,  rises  to  a  height  of  185  feet, 
the  whole  improvement  costing  about  $2,000. 

Rev.  Daniel  Heile  was  succeeded  in  the  pastorate  by  Rev. 
Pious  Niehaus,  O.  S.  F.,  who  came  to  LaFayette  as  assistant  at 
St.  Boniface's  and  director  of  the  Franciscan  Sisters  in  August, 
1886.  He  made  various  improvements  in  the  church  property  and 
had  prepared  the  plans  for  the  interior  decoration  of  the  church, 
when,  in  the  summer  of  1 891,  he  was  called  to  assume  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Franciscan  Sisters  at  Oldenburg,  Ind.  His  successor 
was  Rev.  Ubaldus  Webersinke,  O.  S.  F.  Under  him,  in  the  fall 
of  1890,  the  walls  and  ceilings  were  painted  in  a  restful  cream 
color,  which  deepens  as  it  nears  the  floor  into  a  warm  yellow  tint, 
and  ends  in  a  stone-colored  border,  relieved  by  Gothic  ornaments. 
The  clustered  pillars  also  show  a  stone  color  up  to  the  capitals; 
these  are  ornamented  with  floral  designs,  interspersed  with  gilt  on 
a  deep  red  ground.  The  prevailing  design  is  the  passion  flower, 
branching  out  amid  green  foliage  into  the  groined  arches  of  the 
ceiling,  entwining  the  Gothic  finials  of  the  windows  and  relieving 
the  mellow  tint  of  the  walls.  Rich  gilding  is  intermingled  with  the 
trailing  leaves  of  green  leaves.  The  sanctuary,  the  most  promi- 
nent part  of  the  church,  is  treated  specially  and  in  the  most  artistic 
manner.  The  ceiling  here  is  a  beautiful  azure  tint,  imbedded  with 
gilt  stars,  the  groins  of  the  arch  being  richly  ornamented.  The 
walls,  to  the  height  of  about  fifteen  feet,  show  a   tapestry  pattern 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


inlaid  with  silver  figures  on  a  background  of  green.  The  side  pan- 
els above  the  drapery  show  the  Sacred  Hearts  surrounded  by 
emblematic  figures.  In  the  spaces  above  the  arches  between  the 
pillars  are  the  following  emblems,  done  in  exquisite  coloring: 
The  cross,  with  other  instruments  of  the  Lord's  passion;  emblems 
of  the  sacraments,  such  as  the  lamb,  the  pelican;  the  symbols  of 
the  Evangelists;  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity.  The  three  Gothic 
altars  are  resplendent  in  chaste  white,  richly  inlaid  with  gold.  The 
floor  of  the  sanctuary  is  covered  with  a  choice  velvet  carpet.  The 
cost  of  the  whole  improvement  amounted  to  about  $3,000. 

On  Sunday,  December  28th,  1890,  the  congregation  solemnly 
celebrated  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary,  or  silver  jubilee,  of  the 
dedication  of  the  present  church.  The  Franciscan  provincial. 
Father  Jerome  Kilgestein,  of  Cincinnati,  celebrated  solemn  high 
mass,  assisted  by  Rev.  Ubaldus  Webersinke,  O.  S.  F. ,  Rev.  J.  H. 
Guendling  and  Rev.  Rudolph  Bonner,  O.  S.  F.  The  sermon  was 
delivered  by  Father  Pius  Niehaus,  O.  S.  F. ,  and  was  explanatory 
of  the  emblems  employed  in  the  decoration.  The  choir,  assisted 
by  a  full  orchestra,  rendered  Schubert's  Mass.  At  the  offertory  an 
envelope  collection  was  taken  up,  which  resulted  in  $825. 

In  1892  Rev.  Hilary  Hoelscher,  O.  S.  F.,  succeeded  Father 
Ubaldus.  In  1894  he  replaced  the  former  wmdows  b}'  a  series  of 
fine  artistic  glass  paintings,  their  subjects  being  as  follows:  On 
the  Gospel  side:  i.  St.  John  the  Baptist,  donated  by  John  Wag- 
ner, Sr. ;  2.  St.  Ann,  Guardian  Angel,  donated  by  the  Children's 
Guardian  Angel  society;  3.  The  Holy  Family,  donated  by  Leopold 
Niermann;  4.  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  donated  by  the  Knights  of  St. 
Paul;  5.  The  Prodigal  Son,  donated  by  St.  Boniface's  congrega- 
tion. On  the  Epistle  side:  i.  St.  Elizabeth,  in  memory  of  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  \\'agner,  deceased;  2.  St.  Veronica  and  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul,  donated  by  Joseph  Kress;  3.  Presentation  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  donated  by  Gerard  Moenning;  4.  SS.  Cecilia  and  Boni- 
face of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  donated  by  St.  Boniface's  Men's  soci- 
ety;  5.    The  Good  Shepherd,  donated  by  St.  Joseph's  society. 

Other  improvements  made  during  the  pastorate  of  Father 
Hilary  Hoelscher  are:  Two  exquisite  statues  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception   and    St.    Joseph,    for   the   side  altars,   the  gift  of  the 

{my 


IN    THli    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Misses  Wagner,  wIk.  selected  them  during  their  trip  through 
Europe  in  Mayer's  Art  institute,  Munich;  two  new  confessionals,  of 
carved  oak,  with  gilt  ornamentation  (1895);  ^^  new  communion 
railing,  with  richly  gilt  emblems  and  marble  top  (  1896). 

Father  Hilary  Hoelscher  was  succeeded  by  the  present  pastor. 
Rev.  Lucas  Gottbehoede,  O.  S.  F. ,  on  August  11,  1897.  He  was 
born  January  22d,  1837,  at  Damme,  grand  duchy  of  Oldenburg, 
Germany.  When  nineteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  America,  and 
having  decided  to  devote  his  life  to  the  church,  entered  the  Fran- 
ciscan college  at  Cincinnati,  where  he  completed  his  education  in  the 
classics  and  theology.  On  November  7,  1862,  he  was  ordained 
priest  by  Archbishop  Purcell.  Thenceforth  he  was  successfully 
engaged  in  his  sacred  calling  in  Louisville,  Ky. ,  Hamilton,  O. ,  and 
Cincinnati,  O.  In  1879  he  was  elected  provincial  of  the  Francis- 
cans. At  the  conclusion  of  his  first  term  in  this  responsible  office 
he  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term.  This  he  served  out,  and, 
declining  a  further  election,  took  charge  as  superior  of  a  western 
missionary  district  comprising  thirteen  congregations,  with  head- 
quarters at  Emporia,  Kans.  After  three  years  of  arduous  mission- 
ary duty,  he  joined  the  first  American  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy 
Land,  visiting  the  places  made  sacred  by  the  Savior's  presence. 
After  his  return  he  was  appointed  guardian  of  the  convent  of  the 
Holy  Family,  at  Oldenburg,  Ind.  His  ne.xt  charge  was  St.  Boni- 
face's church,  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  he  was  well  known  and 
beloved  by  old  and  young.  There  he  labored  for  the  welfare 
of  his  congregation  until,  after  over  five  years  of  a  most  successful 
ministry,  he  was  called  to  take  charge  of  St.  Boniface's  church, 
LaFayette,  Ind.  His  administrative  talent  has  already  shown 
gratifying  results,  and  will,  no  doubt,  advance  the  material  and 
spiritual  progress  of  the  congregation. 

St.  Ann's  Church. — St.  Ann's  congregation  dates  its  organiza- 
tion back  to  1870.  At  that  time  Father  Hamilton,  seeing  that  the 
Catholics  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  many  of  whom  were 
aged  and  feeble,  lived  at  a  too  great  distance  from  their  parish 
church,  built  St.  Ann's  chapel,  on  the  corner  of  Wabash  avenue 
and   Smith   street,  at  a  cost   of    $5,000.      It    is  a  two-story   brick 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

building  arranged  for  church  and  school  purposes,  and  services 
have  been  held  there  since  then  every  Sunday  by  one  of  the 
Fathers  at  St.  Mary's. 

In  September,  1884,  when  Father  Walters  was  rector  of  St. 
Mary's  church,  he  advised  Bishop  Dwenger  to  erect  St.  Ann's  into 
a  separate  and  distinct  parish,  which  was  done.  Father  John 
Denipsev  was  appointed  its  first  resident  pastor,  and  at  onc^ 
directed  all  his  energies  to  place  it  on  a  permanent  basis.  He 
built  a  well  appointed  pastoral  residence,  and  was  just  entering 
upon  the  work  of  preparing  for  the  building  of  a  new  church  when 
he  was  ser  t  to  Valparaiso,  Ind.,  to  take  the  place  of  the  deceased 
pastor  of  that  city. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  P.  F.  Roche,  the  present  pas- 
tor, who  continues  the  work  done  by  his  predecessor.  Under  his 
fostering  care  the  congregation  thrived  beyond  all  expectations. 
Success,  however,  was  no  signal  for  a  rest  from  labor  for  Father 
Roche.  So  he  faithfully  continued  on,  striving  each  day  to 
accomplish  additional  good.  He  met  with  discouragements,  for 
his  field  was  narrowed  rather  than  broadened  by  circumstances 
beyond  his  control.  At  one  time  the  part  of  the  city  in  which  his 
charge  is  located  was  a  busy  territory,  alive  with  labor,  noisy  with 
the  buzz  of  machinery  and  the  signal  blasts  of  whistles  of  prosper- 
ous factories.  But  this  all  changed,  and  to-day,  due  to  various 
conditions,  the  First  ward  is  all  but  deserted  by  manufacturing 
industries,  and  many  families  have  sought  residence  elsewhere. 

Despite  these  encouragements,  and  although  the  congregation 
at  present  numbers  only  about  140  families,  it  was  decided  to  build 
a  new  church,  the  ground  for  which  had  been  bought  about  seven 
years  ago.  A  meeting  of  the  principal  members  of  the  church 
was  held,  and  the  enthusiasm  was  so  great  that  steps  were  at 
once  taken  to  secure  suitable  plans  for  a  fitting  edifice.  Work 
was  begun  on  the  structure  in  May,  1896,  and  before  the  close  of 
the  year  the  foundation  was  completed.  Here  a  cessation  of  oper- 
ations was  necessary,  as  available  funds  had  been  exhausted,  and 
Father  Roche  cared  not  to  create  a  burdening  debt.  The  means 
secured  had  been  by  voluntary  contributions  and  receipts  from 
entertainments  planned  by  the  ladies  of  the  congregation.      Dur- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

ing  the  spring  and  summer  of  this  year  the  building  fund  was  some- 
what reimbursed,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  July  work  was  resumed 
and  continued  until  the  new  structure  was  finished. 

The  church  is  built  of  brick  and  stone,  115x60  feet,  with  a 
seating  capacity  of  about  500.  On  the  northeast  corner  rises  a 
tower  of  I  10  feet  in  height,  in  which  on  the  first  t^oor  will  be 
located  the  baptistrj'.  The  entrance  to  the  auditorium  is  through 
a  double  arch  in  the  center  of  the  building.  The  structure  cost 
about  $20,000;  for  the  building  proper,  $16,000,  and  for  its  fur- 
nishings $4,000. 

On  Sunday,  September  12,  1897,  the  corner-stone  was  placed 
in  position  with  elaborate  ceremonies  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Rad- 
emacher,  of  Fort  Wayne,  assisted  by  a  number  of  clergy  of 
LaFayette  and  from  abroad.  Catholic  societies  and  delegations 
from  Peru,  Logansport,  Delphi,  Attica,  Danville,  Muncie,  Tipton, 
Kpkomo,  Rankin  and  Indianapolis  formed  into  a  grand  parade 
at  2  p.  M.  and  marched  to  the  site  of  the  new  building,  where  at 
least  3,000  persons  gathered  to  witness  the  ceremonies.  After 
laying  the  corner-stone,  the  right  reverend  bishop  addressed  the 
people,  and  congratulated  them  on  the  success  they  had  so  far 
achieved.  He  dwelt  eloquently  on  the  benefits  that  would  accrue 
to  them  and  their  children  in  their  new  house  of  worship,  and 
encouraged  them  to  persevere  in  the  faith. 

Rev.  P.  F.  Roche,  the  pastor  of  St.  Ann's,  is  a  native  of  New 
York,  and  was  born  in  Rochester  in  1852.  At  an  early  age  he 
removed  with  his  parents  to  Scranton,  Pa.,  and  from  that  city  he 
went  to  attend  school  at  St.  Charles'  college,  near  Baltimore. 
Here  he  finished  his  classics,  after  which  he  pursued  his  course  of 
philosophy  and  theology  in  the  Franciscan  seminary,  Allegany,  N. 
Y.  Having  become  a  subject  of  the  Fort  Wayne  diocese,  he  was 
ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  that  city  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Dwen- 
■ger  in  1881.  His  first  ministerial  duties  were  performed  in  Fort 
Wayne,  in  which  city  he  remained  about  six  months.  He  was 
then  transferred  to  LaFayette,  serving  here  as  an  assistant  to  Rt. 
Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  then  pastor  of  vSt.  Mary's  church.  His 
first  appointment  as  a  pastor  was  over  the  parish  at  LaGro,  from 
-which   place  he  came  again  to  this   city   to   assume  charge  of   St. 

21  ~Wb) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Ann's,  where  his  devoted  congregation   hopes  he   will   remain   for 
many  years  to  come. 

St.  Lawrence's  Chapel  and  School. — The  growth  of  LaFayette 
made  necessary  the  foundation  of  a  new  parish  composed  of  Cath- 
olic families,  English  and  German,  living  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  city.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Rade- 
macher,  the  needs  of  the  district  were  carefully  examined  with  the 
result  that  he  charged  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  established  in  La- 
Fayette since  1866,  with  the  ministry  in  the  new  congregation. 
Accordingly  the  Franciscan  provincial.  Very  Rev.  Peter  B.  Englert, 
looked  over  the  grounds,  and  on  the  19th  of  November,  1895, 
selected  a  valuable  piece  of  property,  consisting  of  nine  lots,  275  x 
412  feet,  well  located  and  fronting  on  two  streets,  as  the  site  of 
the  future  parish  buildings.  The  deed  was  conveyed  to  the  right 
reverend  bishop  on  January  17th,  1896.  Rev.  Father  Mathias 
Sasse,  O.  S.  F.,  of  St.  Boniface's  church,  was  commissioned  to 
superintend  the  erection  of  a  substantial  building,  which  was  to 
serve  as  chapel,  school  and  residence,  until  such  a  time  as  the 
congregation  should  be  able  to  build  a  large  and  handsome  church. 

Ground  was  broken  for  the  new  building  on  April  6th,  and  the 
work  progressed  favorably  during  the  summer  and  fall.  The 
building  rises  on  a  stone  foundation,  two  stories  of  brick,  the  lower 
containing  a  spacious  entrance  hall  and  three  large  school-rooms, 
the  upper  the  well  appointed  chapel,  entrance  to  which  is  from  the 
west  front.  The  south  wing  contains  one  more  large  school-room 
and  a  well  appointed  residence  with  separate  entrance.  The 
dimensions  of  the  whole  building  are  ninety  by  eighty  feet. 
Including  pews,  school  and  house  furniture,  etc.,  the  cost  amounts 
to  about  $20,000. 

On  Sunday,  November  8,  1896.  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Rade- 
macher  solemnly  blessed  the  building,  dedicating  it  to  the  glorious 
martyr  St.  Lawrence.  The  Very  Rev.  Provincial  Peter  B.  Eng- 
lert celebrated  a  solemn  high  mass,  and  Rev.  Father  Chrysostem 
Theobald,  O.  S.  F. ,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  eloquently  addressed  the 
audience  in  English  and  German.  A  feature  of  the  da}'  was  a 
grand  parade  of  visiting  and  local  societies,  which   formed    at  2  r. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

M.  and  assisted  at  vespers,  when  the  right  reverend  bishop  deliv- 
ered a  most  interesting  and  eloquent  discourse. 

On  the  day  of  dedication  the  Rev.  Father  Theodore  Stephan 
was  appointed  pastor  of  the  new  congregation;  but  owing  to  ill 
health  he  was  compelled  to  resign  the  charge  after  a  few  weeks, 
and  in  December  Rev.  Richard  Wurth,  O.  S.  F.,  succeeded  him. 

Under  his  efficient  management  the  parish  prospers  visibly. 
The  chapel  was  furnished  with  various  requisites,  the  sanctuary 
tastefully  ornamented  and  many  improvements  made — all  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months.  In  September,  1897,  a  suitable  parochial 
residence  was  finished,  so  as  to  enable  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,, 
who  have  charge  of  the  school,  to  dwell  in  the  residence  portion 
of  the  chapel  building,  as  was  originally  intended.  The  prospects 
are  encouraging,  and  if  no  untoward  circum  tances  interfere,  the 
new  parish  will  be  a  prosperous  and  numerous  one. 

LAGRO,    WABASH    COUNTY. 

St.  Patrick's  Parish. — In  1837  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal 
was  opened  for  general  traffic,  the  little  village  of  LaGro  became 
the  chief  emporium  for  wheat,  corn  and  other  crops,  and  the  place 
with  its  surrounding  country  became  an  attraction  for  many  fam- 
ilies from  the  east,  of  whom  quite  a  number  were  Catholics. 

Their  spiritual  wants  called  upon  the  attention  of  several 
missionary  priests;  and  although  no  church  records  had  been  pre- 
served in  LaGro  before  the  year  1846,  ne\ertheless  the  place  had 
been  visited  occasionally  by  some  pioneer  priests — mostl}-  French 
— at  least  during  the  ten  preceding  years. 

With  the  year  of  1846  opens  the  list  of  the  clergymen  that 
had  charge  of  LaGro  for  the  fifty-two  years  following,  viz:  to 
1898.  First,  in  1846.  came  Rev.  Patrick  McDermott,  who  in  all 
probabilit}'  erected  the  first  little  frame  church  which  was  in  later 
years  enlarged  and  used  for  school  purposes;  1847,  Rev.  Michael 
C.  O'Flannigan;  from  1847  to  1865,  Rev.  John  Ryan,  who  built 
an  addition  to  the  little  frame  church  in  1861  and  supplied  it  with 
a  bell,  still  in  use;  from  January,  1866,  to  September,  Rev.  Ber- 
nard Kroeger,  now  pastor  of  St.  Bridget's,  Logansport.  attended 
LaGro  from  Peru;  in  1866  and  1867,  Rev.  Joseph  A.  \\'inter  offici- 

"(347) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ated;  in  1867-68.  Rev.  George  Steiner,  who  opened  the  first  school 
in  a  frame  house;  from  August,  1868,  until  September,  1873,  Rev. 
(now  Very  Rev.)  Matthew  E.  Campion,  at  present  pastor  of  St. 
Vincent's,  Logansport,  was  in  charge  of  LaGro  and  erected  the 
present  beautiful  brick  church,  126x60  feet  in  size,  at  a  cost  of 
$20,000;  from  October,  1873,  until  March,  1882,  the  pastor  was 
the  Rev.  John  Grogan,  who  at  present  is  in  St.  Joseph's  hospital, 
Denver,  Colo.;  from  August,  1882,  until  November,  1883,  the 
pastor  was  Michael  F.  Kelly,  who  died  in  St.  Elizabeth's  hospital 
at  LaFayette;  from  1884  to  1887  Rev.  Patrick  F.  Roche,  now 
pastor  of  St.  Ann's,  LaFayette,  was  in  charge;  from  August  until 
October,  1887,  Rev.  Adam  Buchheit.  now  pastor  at  Wanatah, 
attended  LaGro  from  Huntington;  from  November,  1887,  until 
December,  1890,  Rey.  Anthony  Kroeger  was  the  pastor,  and 
re-opened  the  school  in  the  old  frame  church  and  engaged  Sisters 
of  St.  Francis  in  LaFayette  as  teachers,  and  also  built  the  pres- 
ent little  brick  church  in  Andrews,  which  place  has  since  been 
attached  to  LaGro  as  a  mission;  then  followed,  in  January,  1891, 
to  July,  Rev.  Jerry  Quinlan;  July,  1891.  to  August,  Rev.  John 
Tremmel;  September,  1891,  to  July,  1894,  Rev.  Julius  Becker; 
July,  1894,  to  November,  1895,  Rev.  G.  M.  Kelly;  from  Novem- 
ber, 1895,  to  December,  Rev.  J.  H.  Bathe,  at  present  chancelor 
and  secretary  of  the  bishop,  attended  LaGro  from  Wabash; 
from  December,  1895,  to  January,  1898,  Rev.  Michael  Hanly 
held  the  pastorate,  and  in  January,  1898,  came  the  Rev.  Peter 
Quinn,  the  present  pastor. 

By  the  abandonment  of  the  use  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal 
ior  commercial  purposes,  LaGro  lost  her  traffic.  The  new  rail- 
road, built  along  the  Wabash  in  1856  and  1857,  brought  new 
places  into  existence,  which  drew  a  good  many  people  away 
from  LaGro  to  Fort  Wayne,  Huntington,  Wabash,  Peru,  Logans- 
port,  Delphi  and  LaFayette.  Many  farmer  children  preferred  city 
life  to  the  hard  labors  in  the  field;  old  people  sold  their  places; 
others  died  and  their  farms  passed  into  the  hands  of  non-Cath- 
olics. All  this  accounts  for  the  decrease  of  the  parish  from  over 
120  to  about  sixty  families.  The  following  comparison  of  the 
church  records  of  1870,  when   LaGro  was   in   a   most   flourishing 

(348r 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol'     INDIANA. 

condition,  with  those  of  1897,  may  illustrate  the  decrease:  There 
were  baptisms,  in  1S70,  thirty-five;  in  1897,  seven;  marriages,  in 
1870,  fourteen;  in  1897,  none;  deaths,  in  1870,  eighteen;  in  1S97, 
four.  The  present  pastor  is  a  very  able  priest  and  ranks  in  energy 
with  the  best  of  his  predecessors.  The  congregation  has  no  debts. 
The  necessary  buildings  are  in  good  condition,  and  there  is  reason 
enough  for  hopes  of  a  return  to  its  former  flourishing  condition  as 
soon  as  fresh  induceme;its  are  given  to  workingmen  to  settle  in 
the  village. 

LAPORTE,    LAPOKTE  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Congregation  at  Laporte  was  organized  in  1859 
by  the  late  Father  Scherer,  who  was  succeeded  by  Father  Koontz, 
and  he  by  Rev.  S.  Bartosz;  Father  Oechtering  came  in  1870,  and 
in  1880  was  followed  by  Father  Nussbaum,  who  here  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  days,  dying  in  December,  1895;  Rev.  J.  Becks 
then  officiated  about  six  months,  and  July  9,  1896,  Rev.  Anthony 
■Messmann,  the  present  pastor,  was  placed  in  charge.  At  the 
beginning,  St.  Joseph's  congregation  was  very  weakly,  but  it  grad- 
ually increased  in  strength  and  numbers,  until,  in  1870,  it  numbered 
100  families  or  more,  but  for  various  causes,  an  exodus  occurred 
a  few  years  later  and  at  present  it  numbers  about  sixty-five  fami- 
lies, or  350  souls — all  Germans.  The  church-edifice  was  erected 
by  Rev.  M.  Scherer,  and  is  in  size  40x75  feet,  has  a  seating 
capacity  for  250  persons,  with  an  addition  of  ten  feet  for  the  sanc- 
tuar3^  The  parochial  residence,  30x40  feet,  was  erected  by  Father 
Oechtering,  is  of  brick,  and  the  school-room,  as  also  the  church, 
are  brick  buildings,  and  the  valuation  of  the  whole  is  probably 
about  $20,000.  The  school-roon],  30x40  feet  in  size,  has  a  seat- 
ing capacity  for  i  50,  and  is  attended  by  about  eighty  pupils,  who 
are  presided  over  by  three  Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood,  who  have 
labored  for  the  little  ones  of  the  parish  for  two  years  with  very  sat- 
isfactory results.      May  God  be  their  great  reward. 

Sr.  Peter's  Church,  at  L^porte,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
George  M.  Schramm,  is  80x40  feet  in  dimensions,  has  a  seating 
capacity  for  500  persons,  and  is  attended  by  about  100  families, 

~(349) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

chieHy  of  Irish  nativity.  There  is  no  school  attached  to  the 
church,  but  the  children  of  the  parish,  who  live  sufficiently  near 
St.  Rose's  academy,  attend  that  institution. 

LAUD,    WHITLEY  COUNTY. 

vSt.  Catherine's  Church,  Washington  township,  Whitley  county, 
Ind.,  was  organized  as  a  mission  from  Areola,  by  Rev.  Father 
Vanderpoel.  and  in  1882  Rev.  W.  C.  Miller,  now  of  Oxford.  Ind., 
became  the  first  resident  priest.  In  1883.  Rev.  Miller  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  F.  J.  Lambert, and  he  by  Rev.  Philip  Guethoff, 
who  remained  from  1884  until  1889,  when  Rev.  E.  Boccard  was 
placed  in  charge  and  officiated  until  1895,  when  the  present  zealous 
divine.  Rev.  Bruno  Soengen,  became  pastor.  The  congregation 
comprises  thirty-six  families,  all  German;  the  church  property  con- 
sists of  five  acres,  and  the  church-edifice  is  of  brick,  as  is  also  the 
priest's  house.  The  school  is  attended  by  about  forty-live  pupils, 
who  are  instructed  by  a  lay  teacher. 

Rev.  Bruno  Soengen  was  born  in  Mentz,  on  the  river  Rhine. 
Germany,  in  August,  1856,  and  is  a  son  of  John  B.  and  Caroline 
(Knehny)  Soengen.  the  former  of  whom  was  a  druggist.  Rev. 
Soengen  was  ordained  in  Triest.  Austria.  April  14.  1879,  by  Bishop 
John  Haller.  now  a  cardinal.  Father  Soengen  officiated  in  his  holy 
calling  in  Austria  until  1884,  and  was  then  a  missionary  to  the 
East  Indies  until  1895,  when  he  came  to  the  United  States,  united 
with  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  was  appointed  as  an  assistant 
to  Rev.  J.  H.  Hueser,  at  Huntington.  Ind.,  where  he  remained 
until  December,  1895,  when  he  was  appointed  to  his  present 
charge  of  St.  Catherine's.  His  zealous  labors  here  have  been 
rewarded  with  excellent  results,  and  have  been  well  and  faithfully 
performed,  as  he  has  spared  no  pains  in  improving  the  condition 
of  his  flock  in  all  respects. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  at  Roanoke,  a  mission  of  St.  Catherine's, 
was  organized  by  Father  Miller,  has  a  congregation  of  twenty  fam- 
ilies, of  mixed  Irish  and  German  nationalities,  and  is  under  the 
immediate  care  of  Father  Soengen.  The  church  edifices  at  both 
places  (Roanoke  and  Nix  Settlement,    St.  Catherine)  were   erected 

(350) 


IN    THE    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

by  Protestant  congregations,  but  were  purchased  b\  the  Catholics 
for  their  own  use,  at  a  moderate  cost. 

LAWRENCKBURG,     DEARBORN    COUNTY. 

The  CathoHc  Congregation  of  I.awrenceburg  was  organized  in 
1840,  and  consisted  at  that  time  of  about  fifteen  families,  among 
w^hich  George  Huschart,  Peter  Werst.  Michael  Lang,  Anthony 
Schwarz,  John  Kimmel,  Jacob  Meier  and  Louis  Crusart  were 
prominent. 

Divine  services  were  first  held  in  that  part  of  Lawrenceburg 
generally  known  as  Newtown,  in  a  house  rented  for  that  purpose, 
then  in  the  house  of  George  Huschart,  and  at  times,  also,  in  that 
of  Michael  Lang. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  first  church,  a  stone  structure,  60x40 
feet,  was  laid  in  1841  on  the  west  side  of  Walnut  street,  one  square 
south  of  the  present  church,  but  the  building  was  not  completed 
until  1847,  when  it  was  dedicated  to  divine  service.  Lawrence- 
burg was  attended  by  priests  of  neighboring  congregations  until 
1866. 

Rev.  Jos.  Ferneding,  of  New  Alsace,  visited  the  place  from 
1840  to  1841;  Rev.  F.  O'Rourke,  of  Dover  (Kelso  township), 
from  1 84 1  to  1844,  when  he  returned  to  Ireland;  Rev.  Andrew 
Bennett,  also  from  Dover,  from  1844  to  1850;  Rev.  M.  Stahl,  of 
New  Alsace,  during  the  first  part  of  1850;  Rev.  A.  Carius,  of 
Madison,  during  the  latter  part  of  1850;  the  Revs.  Franciscan 
Fathers  G.  Unterthiner,  Sigismund  and  Anselm  Koch,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  had  charge  from  1851  to  1859;  Re\'.  Ig.  F.  Klein, 
of  St.  Nicholas,  Pipe  Creek,  from  1859  to  1866.  The  congrega- 
tion had  greatly  increased  in  numbers  by  this  time,  and  Rev.  L  F. 
Klein,  seeing  the  necessity  of  building  a  new  and  more  spacious 
church,  made  preparations  to  do  so.  But  wishing  to  build  the 
church  in  Newtown,  where  it  would  have  been  on  much  higher 
ground  and  not  in  danger  of  floods,  he  met  with  a  great  deal  of 
opposition  from  those  who  lived  in  the  old  part  of  town,  around 
the  church;  the  work  was  therefore  discontinued. 

On  January  6,  1866,  Rev.  Clement  Scheve  became  the  first 
resident   pastor    of   Lawrenceburg.      In   the  spring  of    1866   Rev. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Scheve  purchased  of  ^  Rudolf  Walter  outlot  No.  51,  on  the  east 
side  of  Walnut  street,  and  commenced  the  erection,  of  the  present 
beautiful  St.  Lawrence's  church.  The  church  is  of  brick, 
120X  50  feet,  with  a  large  basement  of  stone,  which  was  first  used 
for  school  purposes,  but  since  has  been  converted  into  a  chapel 
and  meeting-rooms  for  societies.  The  church  was  completed  in 
May,  1867,  and  on  the'  2d  day  of  June,  the  same  year,  was  sol- 
emnly dedicated  to  the  service  of  Almighty  God,  by  the  Kt.  Rev. 
Maurice  de  St.  Palais,  bishop  of  Vincennes.  After  the  solemn 
blessing  of  the  church,  the  right  reverend  bishop  celebrated  a  sol- 
emn pontifical  high  mass,  assisted  by  Revs.  Anthony  Scheideler 
and  John  P.  Gillig  as  deacons  of  honor,  and  Revs.  Roman  Wein- 
zoepfel  and  Frederic  W.  Pepersack,  as  deacon  and  subdeacon  of 
mass.  Very  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor,  O.  S.  B. ,  chancelor  of  the 
diocese,  preached  the  English  and  Rev.  Nicholas  Wachter,  O.  S. 
F.,  the  German  sermon.  There  were  also  present  on  the  occasion 
Revs.  J.  H.  F.  J.  Duddenhausen,  of  Dover;  Rev.  Ignace  Ivlein,  of 
Aurora;  Rev.  Theo.  J.  Antoni,  of  Napoleon,  and  the  reverend 
pastor  of  the  church,  Clement  Scheve. 

Father  Scheve  also  built  a  pastor's  residence  in  1867,  a 
spacious  brick  building,  consisting  of  basement  and  one  story. 

In  1869  the  St.  Lawrence's  congregation  donated  to  the 
Franciscan  Sisters  of  Oldenburg,  Ind.,  a  piece  of  ground  adjoin- 
ing the  church,  being  part  of  outlot  No.  51,  on  which  the}' 
erected  a  large  three-story  school-house  of  brick. 

Rev.  Scheve  was  born  on  October  4,  1828,  in  Luesche,  Old- 
enburg, emigrated  to  America  in  1848,  and  was  ordained  March 
19,  1859.  Loss  of  health  compelled  him  to  resign  his  charge  at 
Lawrenceburg  in  August,  1870.  He  went  to  Minnesota,  where  he 
died  in  the  spring  of  1875.  Rev.  Julius  H.  F.  J.  Duddenhausen 
was  appointed  pastor  of  Lawrenceburg  October  1,  1870,  and 
administered  the  temporalities  and  spiritualities  of  the  congrega- 
tion very  successfully  until  May  15,  1875,  when  he  was  transferred 
to  Holy  Trinity  church,  Evansville. 

Rev.  J.  F.  Sondcrmann,  the  present  pastor,  took  charge  May 
15,  1875.  He  was  born  near  Attendorn,  Prussia,  December  2, 
1844,  came  to  America,   1847.      He  began  his  studies  at  St.  Mein- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

rati,  Spencer  count}',  Ind,  in  the  fall  of  1857,  studied  at  \'in- 
cennes  from  1859,  at  St.  Thonicis,  Nelson  county,  Ky. .  from 
September,  1859,  to  July,  i860,  returned  again  to  St.  Meinrad  in 
the  fall  of  i860  and  completed  his  studies  there  in  1868  and  was 
ordained  in  the  same  place  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais, 
as  follows:  Tonsure  and  minor  orders,  September  18,  1865;  sub- 
deacon,  June  17,  1867;  deacon,  June  21,  1867;  priest,  September 
22,  1868.  His  first  mission  was  Mount  Vernon,  Pose\'  county, 
Ind.,  of  which  he  was  first  resident  priest  until  May  15,  1874, 
when  he  replaced  Rev.  Ferd  Viefhaus,  durinj^"  his  absence,  at  St. 
Mary's  church,  Evansville,  until  October,   1874. 

When  Rev.  Sondermann  took  charj^e  of  Mount  Vernon  the 
congregation  consisted  of  about  forty  families,  many  of  whom  were 
negroes.  There  was  a  debt  on  the  church  of  nearly  $2,000,  and 
this  was  only  a  temporary  church,  very  poorly  furnished  in  every 
way.  During  his  stay  there,  an  altar  was  donated  by  the  school 
brothers  of  Dayton,  Ohio.  A  pipe  organ  and  a  cemetery  of  three 
acres  were  purchased  and  paid  for,  also  the  old  church  debt  was 
paid  off.  In  the  summer  of  1873  Mount  Vernon  suffered  very 
much  by  a  cholera  epidemic. 

Rev.  Sondermann  next  became  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's,  \'ander- 
burg  county,  from  October  29,  1874,  until  May,  1875,  when  he 
was  transferred  to  Lawrenceburg. 

The  first  parish  school  at  Lawrenceburg  was  opened  in  1844 
in  a  room  rented  for  that  purpose.  The  first  church  was  also  used 
for  school  purposes  for  some  years;  later  a  frame  building  was 
erected.  The  school  at  present  has  an  average  attendance  of  over 
200.  The  congregation  numbers  nearl}^  300  families.  Church 
property  is  valued  at  $60,000. 

The  disastrous  floods  of  1883  and  1884  damaged  the  church 
property  to  the  extent  of  many  thousand  dollars,  and  also  im- 
poverished the  people,  who  suffered  great  losses  to  their  homes. 
The  floods  necessitated  the  rebuilding  of  the  pastor's  residence  and 
adding  another  story  to  the  same,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  putting  new 
floor  into  church,  remodeling  pews,  repairing  altars,  confessional, 
the  fresco,  and  a  new  furnace  and   basement  of  the   church    (the 


(808) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

water  stood  seven  feet  ten  inches  on  the  church  floor  in  1884  and 
five  feet  in  1883). 

The  debt  of  the  church  May  15,  1875,  ^^'^s  $26,000;  in 
January,  1882,  $22,000;  in  1884,  after  the  floods,  $27,000,  and 
in  1898,  $6,000. 

The  church  was  frescoed  in  1880,  a  sixteen-stop  (16  sets  of 
pipes)  pipe  orj^an  was  bought  and  paid  for  in  1894,  and  a  new 
beautiful  main  altar  was  donated  to  the  church  by  Mrs.  John  B. 
Garnier  in  May,   1898,  costing  $1,000. 

Since  the  flood  of  1884  the  city  of  Lawrenceburg  has  been 
secured  against  inundations  by  a  good  substantial  levee,  and  has 
not  suffered  since  from  high  waters. 

LEBANON,    BOONE  COUNTY. 

St.  Joachim's  Church,  at  Lebanon,  was  organized  by  the  rev- 
erend clergy  of  LaFayette,  Tippecanoe  county,  and  by  them  was 
attended  as  a  mission  until  1874,  when  Rev.  Thomas  Cahill  came 
here  as  first  resident  pastor  and  remained  until  May,  1875,  when 
he  was  consecutively  succeeded  in  the  pastorate  by  Rev.  T.  R3'an 
until  December,  1878;  Rev.  L.  A.  Moench,  now  of  Plymouth, 
Marshall  county,  until  1882;  Rev.  John  Dempse}-,  until  October, 
1884;  Rev.  D.  J.  Mulcahey,  until  November.  1885;  Rev.  M.  F. 
Kelly,  until  August,  1893,  and  then  by  the  Rev.  Henry  A.  Hell- 
hake,  who  had  charge  until  August,  1898,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  William  S.  Hogan,  from  Logansport.  The  membership 
of  St.  Joachim's  comprises  sixty  families  from  the  surrounding 
rural  districts  and  are  English-speaking.  The  church  property 
comprises  five  lots,  and  the  foundations  of  a  new  church,  40x80 
feet,  have  already  been  laid.  The  missions  attached  to  St.  Joachim 
include  that  of  St.  Rose  of  Lima,  at  Clark's  Hill,  Tippecanoe 
county,  which  was  organized  by  the  clergy  of  St.  Mary's,  of 
LaFayette,  and  attended  by  them  until  1875,  when  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  charge  of  St.  Joachim;  the  church-building  of  this 
mission  is  of  frame,  is  20x50  feet,  and  the  membership  numbers 
fifteen  families,  chiefly  English  farming  people;  St.  George's  mission 
at  Colfax,  which  has  about  the  same   history  as   that   of  Clark's 


IX    THK    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

Hill,  has  also   an    edifice   20  x  50   feet,   and    is  attended    by   eight 
families. 

LEOPOI.I),    PKKRY    ("()^■N'I•^•. 

St.  Augustine's  Church,  at  Leopold,  was  built  by  Rev.  Aug. 
Bessonies  in  1843.  and  t  e  present  edifice  was  be^un  by  Rev. 
Philip  Ducrou.x,  who  had  charge  of  the  parish  from  August  until 
December,  1866;  the  work  of  -erection  was  con  inued  by  Rev.  J. 
L.  Brassart  and  was  concluded  by  Rev.  Philip  Doyle,  whose  pas- 
torate extended  from  1869  uiitil  1872,  and  the  value  of  the  church, 
in  1880,  when  the  population  of  the  parish  numbered  but  100, 
was  placed  at  $12,000.  The  list  of  pastors  who  have  had  St. 
Augustine's  in  charge  from  184010  1882  is  as  follows:  Rev.  Julian 
Benoit,  from  1837  to  1840,  who,  it  appears,  resided  at  Derby; 
Rev.  Aug.  Bessonies,  from  1840  to  February  20,  1853;  Rev.  John 
P.  Dion,  until  March  3,  1859;  Rev.  Clatus  Urcun,  until  1861;  Rev. 
J.  P.  Dion,  until  1866;  Rev.  Philip  Ducroux,  from  August  to 
December,  1866;  Rev.  John  P.  Dion,  from  December,  1866,  to 
July,  1867;  Rev.  J.  L.  Brassart,  until  March.  1869;  Rev.  Philip 
Doyle,  until  January  4,  1872;  Rev.  J.  B.  Unverzagt,  until  July, 
II,  1877;  Rev.  Hippolite  Pierrard,  until  August,  1880;  Rev.  F. 
M.  Mousset,  until  April,  1882,  and  on  September  16,  1882,  Father 
Brassart  again  returned. 

Father  Pierrard  upon  his  arrival  addresed  a  petition  to  the  Ladies 
of  Perpetual  Adoration,  at  Bruxelle,  Belgium,  for  donations  of  vest- 
ments, etc.  These  ladies  showed  the  letter  to  King  Leopold  II, 
who  at  once  sent  vestments  and  sacred  vessels  to  the  value  of 
$1,500,  as  a  donation  to  Leopold,  in  Perry  county. 

Since  the  last-named  date  the  succession  has  been  as  follows: 
Rev.  Brassart,  September  16,  1882,  until  February  i,  1895;  Rev, 
Joseph  T.  Semefeld,  February  i,  1895,  to  March  10,  1895;  Rev.  J. 
Berger,  February  10,  1895,  to  January  i,  1896;  Rev.  C.  P.  Barm  and 
Rev.  P.  Hommes,  alternately,  from  January  i,  1896,  to  July  24. 
1896,  and  Rev.  J.  F.  Mattingly,  July  24,  1896,  to  the  present 
time. 

LIGONIER,    NOBLE  COUNTY. 

St.  Patrick's  Church,  at  Ligonier,  was  organized,  about  i860, 
by  Rev.  Father  Schaefer,  then  resident  priest  at  Avilla.  who  here 

(355) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

built  a  small  church  and  attended  until  ivS63,  his  congregation  con- 
sisting of  fifteen  families,  mostly  Irish.  Later,  the  congregation 
were  ministered  to  by  visiting  clergymen  from  Goshen  until  1866, 
when  Father  Oechtering,  of  Avilla,  attended  about  sixteen  months, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  D.  Duehmig,  who  ministered  to 
the  congregation  until  1873,  when  it  passed  again  under  the  clergy 
of  Goshen,  who  officiated  until  1877.  This  year,  I'^ather  Duehmig 
again  took  charge  and  greatly  enlarged  the  church-building,  or, 
rather,  rebuilt  it,  making  it  a  neat  frame  of  about  28  x  56  feet,  and 
ending  his  services  in  1882,  when  the  congregation  was  again  placed 
in  charge  of  the  clergy  of  Goshen,  and  so  remained  until  Septem- 
ber, 1897,  when  Rev.  George  Lauer  became  resident  pastor.  The 
congregation  now  numbers  twenty-five  families,  and  Father  Lauer 
has,  beside,  charge  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  mission  at  Ken- 
dallville.  Noble  co\inty,  and  St.  Henry's  mission  at  Millersburg, 
Elkhart  county. 

LOCAXSPORT,    CASS  COI'XTY. 

St.  Vincent  De  Paul  Church. — During  the  two  years  preceding 
1838  the  members  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Logansport  became 
very  numerous  in  consequence  of  the  great  influx  of  laborers 
engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  Wabash  &  Erie  canal  through 
this  portion  of  the  county,  a  large  majority  of  whom  were  either 
members  of  that  church  or  from  childhood  had  been  reared  under 
the  influence  of  its  teachings,  and  were  frequently  visited  by  travel- 
ing clergymen  looking  after  the  interests  of  the  church  in  new  and 
uncultivated  fields,  and  who,  mingling  with  this  people,  exerted  an 
influence  in  favor  of  establishing  a  place  of  worship  where  their 
ancient  faith  might  be  renewed  at  stated  intervals  in  coming  years. 
The  first  work  of  this  character,  so  far  as  is  now  disclosed  by  the 
records  extant,  was  performed  by  Rev.  John  Claudius  Francis 
(or  Francois,  as  it  was  then  written),  who,  about  the  beginning  of 
the  year  1838.  purchased  of  Harvey  Heth  and  wife  a  tract  of  five 
acres  in  the  northwest  corner  of  lot  No.  2,  of  the  subdivision  of 
three  sections  of  land  reserved  to  the  children  of  Joseph  Barron  by 
the  treaty  with  the  Pottawattomies  in  October,  1826,  the  convey- 
ance bearing  date  February   27    of   the   first-named  year.      Subse- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA, 

quently,  within  that  and  the  following  \-ear,  other  purchases  were 
made  by  him  from  the  same  parties  and  immediately  adjoining  the 
first-named  tract,  making  in  the  aggregate  twenty  and  thirteen-hun- 
dredths  acres.  On  the  tract  lirst  purchased,  and  a  few  rods  south- 
ward of  the  south  bank  of  the  canal,  he  erected  a  small  frame 
building,  a  story  and  a  half  high,  suited  to  the  purposes  of  a  resi- 
dence and  a  temporary  place  of  meeting  for  the  members  of  his 
fiock,  prior  to  the  erection  of  a  more  permanent  church-edifice. 
In  this  unpretentious  domicilian  retreat,  away  from  the  bustle  of 
the  outside  world,  this  venerable  father  frequently,  in  that  early 
day,  celebrated  mass,  and  otherwise  administered  to  the  spiritual 
wants  of  his  congregation.  For  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
afterward  the  building  was  popularly  known  as  the  "priest's 
house. 

Shortly  after  the  consummation  of  the  work  just  noticed.  Father 
Francis  eet  himself  about  the  further  work  of  erecting  a  small,  but 
sufficiently  large,  stone  church  on  Duret  street,  and  a  little  to  the 
westward  from  Ivnowlton  &  Dolan's  machine  shops,  and  this  suf- 
ficed to  meet  the  wants  of  his  congregation  for  many  years.  This 
church  was  first  used  some  time  in  the  year  1839,  and  continued 
to  be  so  used  until  the  summer  of  i860,  when  the  increased  mem- 
bership made  the  construction  of  a  church-house  of  greatly 
enlarged  proportions  a  necessity.  The  new  building  was  put  under 
contract  under  the  supervision  of  Father  Hamilton,  and  the  work 
so  far  progressed  that  in  August,  i860,  the  corner-stone  was  laid 
with  appropriate  ceremonies.  About  one  year  from  the  date  the 
stately  edifice  near  the  southwest  corner  of  Ninth  and  Spencer 
streets  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God,  in  due  form. 

Since  the  dedication  of  the  new  church  the  old  one  is  no 
longer  used  for  the  purposes  of  its  original  construction.  The  pro- 
jection of  the  new  building,  and  its  subse  juent  completion,  are 
chiefly  due  to  the  untiring  energy  and  zealous  labor  of  Rev.  Geo. 
A.  Hamilton,  deceased.  Other  extensive  and  much  needed 
improvements  were  made  afterward,  in  the  erection  and  comple- 
tion of  a  substantial  and  comfortable  brick  pastoral  residence 
immediately  east  of  and  adjacent  to  the  church. 

The  following  priests  have  officiated  as  pastors  of  the  congre- 

(3o7) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

gation  worshiping  in  this  church  since  the  date  of  organizing: 
Rev.  Father  Francis,  from  1839  to  1841;  Father  Martin,  1841  to 
1844;  Rev.  Michael  Clark,  in  1844;  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais,  in 
1845;  Rev.  F.  Fischer,  from  1846  to  1848;  Rev.  P.  Murphy,  from 
1848  to  1850;  Rev.  Patrick  McDermott,  in  1850;  Rev.  F.  O'Con- 
nell,  in  1852;  Rev.  Fr.  A.  Carius,  from  1852  to  1855;  Rev.  Will- 
iam Doyle,  from  1855  to  1857;  Rev.  Charles  Zucker,  from  May, 
1857,  to  August,  1859;  Rev.  George  A.  Hamilton,  from  August, 
1859,  to  January,  1864;  Rev.  Bernard  J.  Force,  from  January, 
1864,  to  April,  1868;  Rev.  M.  E.  Campion  from  April,  1868,  to 
January,  1869;  Rev.  F.  Mayer,  from  January,  1869,  to  July,  1871; 
Rev.  Fr.  Lawler,  from  July,  1871,  to  May,  1878;  Rev.  E.  P. 
Waters,  from  May,  1878,  to  June,  1883,  and  Very  Rev.  M.  E. 
Campion,  from  June,  1883,  to  the  present  time.  Of  those  early 
priests,  Father  Martin  was  afterward  a  bishop  in  the  south,  and 
Father  de  St.  Palais  was  afterward  bishop  of  Vincennes.  Father  de 
St.  Palais'  connection  with  the  pastorate  in  Logansport  is  a  his- 
torical incident  worthy  of  especial  mention. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Paris,  in  1845,  he  was  presented 
with  a  bell  to  be  placed  in  his  church  at  Logansport.  It  was  of 
excellent  tone,  unique  in  design  and  of  superior  workmanship,  the 
metal  of  which  it  was  composed  containing  an  unusually  large  pro- 
portion of  silver,  made,  so  it  was  said,  under  the  especial  super- 
vision of  the  donor  and  for  the  proper  use  of  the  church  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  in  Logansport.  In  due  time  it  was  received  here 
and  put  in  its  place  with  the  most  solemn  ceremony.  When  the 
old  church  ceased  to  be  used  for  its  original  and  legitimate  purpose, 
this  souvenir  bell  was  transferred  to  and  now  occupies  a  position  in 
state,  in  the  new  St.  Vincent's  boys'  school-building.  The  new 
church  is  now  entirely  out  of  debt,  Father  Campion,  during  his 
present  administration,  having  removed  the  last  vestige.  The 
whole  church  property  is  valued  at  not  less  than  $75,000.  and 
about  300  families  now  compose  the  membership. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  at  Logansport,  is  an   offshoot   from  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  a  considerable  proportion  of  its  original  member- 
ship coming  from  that  congregation.      The  first  building  of  brick,. 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol'    INDIANA. 

on  Second  street,  near  Market  street,  was  erected  some  time  in  the 
the  latter  part  of  1869,  and  mass  was  first  celebrated  it  in  \)y  the 
first  pastor,  Rev.  Jacob  Meyer,  on  the  2d  of  F'ebruary,  1870. 
Father  Meyer  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Von  Schwedeler,  who  in  turn 
was  succeeded  by  Father  Widau,  and  he  by  Father  Meili.  The 
present  pastor,  the  Rev.  Henry  Koehne,  assumed  charj^e  August 
24,  1872.  There  were  about  sixty  families  in  the  congregation 
when  Father  Koehne  came,  and  about  $6,000  of  debts.  These 
debts  were  paid  off  in  about  two  years  under  his  careful  manage- 
ment. Subsequently,  other  and  valuable  improvements  were  made. 
The  school  was  originally  small,  and  secular  teachers  were  placed 
in  charge.  In  September,  1877,  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  came 
from  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  and  took  charge  of  the  school,  after  which 
time  it  continued  to  prosper  until  there  was  not  room  enough  to 
accommodate  all  the  children  who  desired  to  attend,  and  a  new 
school-building  became  a  necessity,  and  of  this  further  mention 
will  be  made  in  a  future  paragraph. 

In  1885  a  new  church  on  Market  street,  near  Second  street, 
was  put  under  contract,  and  was  dedicated  in  1888,  its  cost  being 
about  $65,000,  all  of  which  has  long  since  been  paid  in  full.  The 
dimensions  of  this  new  building  are  165  by  63  feet;  the  seating 
capacity  is  adequate  for  1,000  persons,  and  the  interior  is  elegantly, 
if  not  gorgeously,  decorated,  while  the  exterior  is  chaste  in  archi- 
tectural finish,  and  the  tall  spire,  surmounted  by  a  magnificent 
cross  of  gold,  is  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes,  even  at  a  great  distance. 
About  700,000  brick  were  used  in  the  construction  of  this  vast  tem- 
ple of  God,  and  it  may  be  said  that  to  Father  Koehne  is  due  the 
credit  of  originating  and  carrying  through  to  completion  this  gigan- 
tic enterprise,  but  it  must  be  added  that  the  congregation  of  that 
day  greatly  encouraged  him  in  the  task. 

In  January,  1892,  the  new  parochial  school,  east  of  the  church 
and  facing  on  Second  street,  was  completed  at  a  cost  of  $25,000. 
This  building  is  60x80  feet,  is  of  brick,  three  stories  high,  with  a 
basement,  contains  six  class-rooms,  a  chapel,  two  music  rooms  and 
a  reception  room,  beside  the  magnificent  hall  on  the  third  floor, 
which  contains  a  stage  26x22  feet  and  the  auditorium  with  a  seat- 
ing  capacity   for   600   persons.      The  entire  building  is  heated  by 

■      ~(359>. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

natural  gas,  and  the  plumbing  and  gas  work  comprise  over  2,000 
feet  of  pipe.  The  present  school  enrolment  is  about  300,  the 
pupils  being  under  the  superintendence  of  ten  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  from  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  ^vho  carry  the  pupils  up  to  the 
eighth  grade,  keeping  fully  abreast  withthe  curriculum  of  the  pub- 
lic schools,  all  under  the  charge  of  the  Venerable  Aloysia  Gonzaga. 

The  school  ground  is  ample  and  its  value  is  estimated  at 
$1,500.  The  school  itself,  with  appurtenances,  is  at  present  worth 
$25,000,  and  the  old  school  has  been  remodeled  into  a  dwelling  for 
the  teachers,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000. 

The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is  Rev.  H.  Kcehne. 

St.  Bridget's  Church,  of  Logansport,  is  also  an  outgrowth  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  the  extensive  membership  of  that  church  and 
the  inconvenience  of  attending,  by  reason  of  the  distance,  of  those 
living  in  the  western   portion  of   the  city,  making  the  question  of 
building  another  church  in  that  portion  one  of  ready  solution  when 
the  matter  came  up  for  deliberation  and  determination.      In  the 
early  part  of  1875,  in  order  to  carry  out  this  design,  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Dwenger,  of  the  diocese  of    Fort  Wayne,  purchased   from 
Judge  Dykeman  the  entire  square  bounded  by  Wheatland  street. 
Linden  avenue,  Wilkinson  and  Heath   streets,  at  a  cost  of  $5,000. 
The  labor  incident  to  the  building  of    the  church-edifice  devolved 
chiefly  upon  Rev.  Bernard  Kroeger,  who,  with  a  ^eal  worthy  the 
motive   which   impelled  him  forward,  wrought  diligently  and  ear- 
nestly.     The  building  was  put   under   contract   early   in  the   year 
1875,  and  in  August  following  was  fully  completed  and  ready  for 
occupancy,  when,  on  the  i  5th  of  that  month,  it  was  formally  dedi- 
cated to  the  worship  of  God  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.      This  elegant  edifice  was  built  at  a  cost  of  about 
$11,000  or  $12,000,  while  the  cost   of  the   lot   ($5,000)  made  the 
total  cost  of  the   property,  up    to  that   time,  $16,000  or  $17,000. 
But  since  then  a  school-building  has  been  erected,  a  fine  parsonage, 
in  1892,  at  a  cost  of  $5,000,  and,  later,  a  hall,  36x74  feet,  for  the 
use  of  societies,  church  festivals  and  entertainments,  thus  adding 
to  the  original  cost.      The  grounds  are  handsomely  laid  out,  with 


iS60) 


IN    THE    STATli    Ol'    INDIANA. 

cement  walks,  shaded  by  a  luxuriant  j^rowth  of  trees,  and  are  the 
admiration  of  all  beholders. 

The  school  is  in  charge  of  four  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  of  Tip- 
ton, who  teach  the  English  branches  only  to  about  lOO  pupils. 
Many  Protestant  children  attend  this  school,  the  fee  being  fifty 
cents  per  month,  but  many  of  the  poorer  children  are  taught  gratis. 
Father  Kroeger  has  indeed  worked  untiringly  and  zealously  in  pro- 
moting the  welfare  of.  his  congregation,  and  has  succeeded  in  can- 
celing a  debt  of  nearly  $16,000  incurred  by  his  early  parishioners 
and  their  successors  in  bringing  to  completion  this  noble  church- 
edifice  and  its  accessories.  The  present  congregation  of  St. 
Bridget's  numbers  about  100  families,  who,  though  not  wealthy, 
never  fail  to  respond  to  their  beloved  pastor's  call  for  material  aid 
when  required. 

LOOGOOTEE,  MARTIN  COUNTY. 

St.  John's  Church,  at  Loogootee. — Loogootee  itself  is  a  new 
town  and  the  church  here  did  not  })recede  it.  It  dates  its  growth 
from  the  building  of  the  O.  &  M.  railroad,  and  this  is  a  milestone, 
as  it  were,  marking  the  change  in  commerce  from  the  old  to  the 
new,  for  previous  to  the  building  of  the  O.  &  M.  railroad,  the  adja- 
cent town,  Mt.  Pleasant,  on  White  river,  was  the  great  shipping 
point  and  the  means  of  transfer  was  by  flat  boats,  while  now  it  is 
by  railroad  from  Loogootee.  Judge  Thomas  Gootee  was  the 
founder  of  this  city.  He  owned  part  of  the  land  on  which  it  was 
originally  situated,  and  William  Grays  owned  the  west  half  of  the 
site.  Before  1857  it  was  little  but  a  dreary  swamp.  In  1853  the 
O.  &  M.  road  was  commenced  and  completed  in  1857  at  Loogoo- 
tee. So  as  the  old  kind  of  commerce  passed  away  the  old  shipping 
town,  Mt.  Pleasant,  also  passed  away  and  Loogootee,  immediatel)^ 
on  the  railroad,  grew  and  prospered.  A  few  frame  buildings  were 
first  erected.  In  1857  a  two-story  store  room  was  built  for  and 
occupied  by  Gampbell  &Breen,  and  in  the  upper  floor  of  this  mass 
was  first  celebrated.  Later  it  was  offered  up  in  another  frame 
building  across  the  street.  This  was  owned  by  a  Mr.  Gootee.  A 
new  number  of  the  railroaders  were  among  the  first  members  of  the 
parish,  but  some  were  added  to  it  from  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Peter's, 


22 


(361) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

while  others  removed  from  St.  Martin's.  It  also  received  a  few 
valuable  additions  in  the  way  of  business  men,  who  saw  the  impor- 
tance of  the  place  as  a  trading  point.  Of  these  men,  Campbell  & 
Breen  came  from  Washington,  and  Patrick  Larkin  and  the  O'Briens 
from  Mt.  Pleasant.  Rev.  Father  John  Mougin  organized  the  new 
congregation  and  built  the  new  church.  Fr.  Mougin  kept  his 
books  in  good  order  and  few  material  facts  necessary  in  a  history 
of  the  parish  are  omitted.  The  books  are  dated  October,  1859. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  April,  i860,  and  one  feature  of  the 
day  was  the  presence  of  the  Jasper  band.  The  church  had  been  so 
far  completed  by  the  next  year  that  a  mission  was  given  in  it  by 
Father  Damen.  At  this  time  it  was  without  floor  or  pews,  and  it 
is  now  amusing  to  hear  those  who  were  present  tell  of  that  mission, 
and  the  way  in  which  boards,  boxes  and  blocks  were  utilized  in 
arranging  temporary  seats  for  the  crowds  that  gathered. 

Rev.  John  Mougin,  who  at  first  only  visited  from  St.  Mary's, 
now  came  to  Loogootee  and  from  here  visited  St.  Mary's  and  St. 
Martin's.  During  i860  and  1861,  G.  M.  Ginnsz,  then  a  student 
for  the  priesthood,  spent  his  vacation  with  Father  Mougin  and 
interested  himself  in  planting  some  young  trees.  Later  he  became 
pastor  of  the  church,  and  these  trees  were  there  to  shelter  him. 
The  work  on  the  church  was  continued  after  the  mission  of  1861, 
and  in  January,  1863,  the  debt  of  the  church  was  $750.  Announc- 
ing this  to  the  congregation.  Father  Mougin  proposed  to  pay  $300 
of  the  debt  if  the  congregation  would  pay  the  remaining  $450. 
They  took  him  at  his  word,  and  very  soon  the  total  debt  was  can- 
celed. It  was  he  that  provided  the  first  school-room  for  the  par- 
ish and  brought  the  Sisters  here.  Rev.  Father  Mougin  left  in 
1864,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  L.  Gueguen,  who  purchased  the 
land  for  and  established  a  cemetery.  In  1866  he  built  the  present 
substantial  two-story  brick  residence. 

In  the  summer  of  1869,  a  member  of  the  parish,  James 
Farrell,  died,  and  soon  after  his  wife  followed  him  to  the  grave. 
They  bequeathed  $6, 200  to  St.  John's,  and  this  magnificent  sum 
put  the  congregation  in  an  excellent  financial  condition,  at  least, 
when  it  was  finally  gotten  possession  of,  but  there  was  some  delay 


(362) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

to  St.  John's  church,  and  there  being  no  such  corporation  or  indi- 
vidual, the  executors  could  not  pay  the  money  over  promptly. 
The  matter  was  taken  into  court,  and  after  an  expenditure  of 
about  $1,500  Father  Gueguen  finally  secured  the  appointment  of  a 
trustee  in  whom  the  property  could  be  vested  for  the  use  of  the 
congregation.  A  new  church  was  needed,  and  this  generous  gift 
enabled  the  building  of  one  without  much  delay.  The  lots  on 
which  the  present  church  stands  were  a  part  of  the  gift. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  first  church  at  Loogootee  was  laid  by 
Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  and  a  grand  sermon  was  preached  by  the  elo- 
quent divine,  P.  Bede  O'Connor.  There  was  a  great  gathering, 
and  it  was  a  gala  day.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present  church 
was  laid  in  1880  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Chatard.  He  also  preached 
the  sermon.  Excursion  trains  were  run  on  the  O.  &  ^f.  from  both 
east  and  west,  and  Loogootee  saw  again  the  great  crowd  and  the 
gala  day  of  i860.  Only  a  few  priests  had  the  staying  qualities  of 
Father  Gueguen,  who  for  twenty-one  years  was  the  pastor.  He 
saw  many  changes  in  that  time,  yet  changed  little  himself  in  his 
quiet  methods  of  building  up  the  parish. 

The  altar  in  the  present  church  is  a  pretty  Gothic  one,  cost 
$500,  and  was  donated  by  Mrs.  James  J.  Campbell,  now  of  New- 
port, Kentucky.  Rev.  Father  Ginnsz  gave  the  new  church  several 
finishing  touches,  such  as  stone  steps  and  new  pews,  costing  $500, 
two  bells,  one  of  which  weighs  1,200  pounds  and  the  other  450 
pounds,  and  new  fences  have  been  put  around  the  premises.  These 
are  minor  matters,  compared  with  Father  Ginnsz's  really  great 
work  while  stationed  here,  which  was  the  building  of  the  substan- 
tial and  pretty  two-story  brick  school-house.  It  has  three  large 
school-rooms,  handsomely  furnished,  and  a  large  hall  overhead, 
that  is  used  for  fairs,  concerts,  school  entertainments,  and  as  a 
meeting  place  for  the  parish  societies.  Branch  No.  6^,  Catholic 
Knights  of  America,  was  organized  here  May  24,  1879,  and  in  1887 
Rev.  Father  Ginnsz  organized  a  total  abstinence  society,  but  it 
did  not  last  long.  He  was  succeeded  practically  by  Rev.  Timothy 
O'Donaghue,  although  for  a  few  months  before  Rev.  O'Donaghue 
took  charge  Rev.  W.  H.  Slavin  and  Rev,  Fitzpatrick  attended. 


(363) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


LOWELL,    LAKL    COir.NTY. 


Lowell  Parish,  in  Lake  county,  is  a  mission  attached  to  St. 
Augustine's  church,  of  Rensselaer,  Jasper  county.  In  1865,  divine 
services  were  first  held  in  Lowell  at  the  house  of  John  Hack,  a 
leading  Catholic  of  the  village,  and  the  second  services  were  held 
in  1868,  at  Sigler's  hall,  when  Bishop  Luers  presided.  At  this 
time  the  parish  was  full}-  organized,  and  for  a  year  or  more  wor- 
shiped in  a  brick  factory-building.  In  1871  the  erection  of  a  frame 
church-edifice  was  begun,  but  this  was  not  finished  until  1882,  at 
a  cost  of  $1,000.  For  two  years  after  the  church  was  closed  in, 
services  were  held  therein  once  a  month,  and  then,  for  three  years, 
there  was  no  service  held  at  all.  After  this,  the  congregation 
being  re-organized  and  placed  on  a  sounder  basis,  it  was  able  to 
support  services  once  a  month,  and  this  practice  was  continued 
until  January,  1882,  when  arrangements  were  made  for  services  to 
be  held  each  fortnight.  Rev.  Father  Ganser  ofificiating. 

MADISON,     JEFFERSON    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  (German  Catholic)  Church,  at  Madison,  was 
founded  about  1850,  and  for  its  history  the  publishers  of  this  work 
are  indebted  for  the  following  information,  up  to  1 881,  to  a  volume 
published  by  the  Rev.  H.  Alerding,  in  1883. 

Although  the  German  element  of  the  Catholic  population  of 
Madison  and  vicinity  was  considerable  from  the  beginning,  yet  it 
was  not  deemed  opportune  to  have  a  separate  church  until  1850. 
In  the  early  times  Rev.  Joseph  Ferneding,  Rev.  Charles  Opper- 
mann,  Rev.  Alphonse  Munschina,  and  others,  visited  Madison  from 
time  to  time  to  administer  the  sacraments  to  those  German  Cath- 
olics who  were  unable  to  speak  the  English  language.  On  August 
2,  1848,  Rev.  Father  Joseph  Fischer  was  sent  to  administer  to  the 
German  portion  of  St.  Michael's  congregation,  and  in  January, 
1850,  the  Rev.  Anthony  Carius  came  to  Madison  and  immediately 
made  preparations  for  the  building  of  a  church  for  the  Germans. 
In  the  same  year  the  lot  was  bought,  and  the  foundation  and  cor- 
ner-stone laid.  In  185  I  the  walls  were  built  and  the  church  put 
under  roof.      St.  Mary's  congregation  is  much  indebted  to  the  Rev. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Joseph  Kundeck,  who  was  temporarily  located  in  Madison.  By 
his  prudence  and  energy,  he  assisted  materially  in  organising  the 
congregation,  creating  peace  and  harmony  among  the  discontented 
and  soliciting  subscriptions  for  the  new  church. 

To  form  a  new  congregation  and  build  a  church  is  always  an 
arduous  undertaking,  but  here  it  seemed  to  be  particularly  so.  It 
was  a  continuous  struggle  for  six  years.  The  following  priests  had 
charge  of  St.  Mary's  congregation  during  this  period:  Rev. 
Anthony  ('arius  from  January,  1850,  to  March.  1852;  Rev.  Joseph 
Kundeck,  in  1850;  Rev.  Charles  Schafroth,  from  April,  1852,  to 
April,  1853;  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor,  ().  S.  B.,from  May  to  July, 
1853;  Rev.  Edward  Martinovic,  from  July,  1853,  to  May,  1855; 
Rev.  Anthony  Carius  again  from  May,   1855,  to  February,  1856. 

The  Rev.  Leonard  Brandt  took  charge  of  St.  Mary's  church 
on  the  6th  of  February,  1856.  At  his  arrival  the  outlook  afforded 
little  encouragement.  The  church  was  incumbered  with  a  debt  of 
$6,000.  The  income  was  so  trifling  that  not  even  the  meager 
salaries  of  the  pastor  and  the  teacher  could  be  collected.  Every- 
thing in  and  about  the  church  was  in  a  forlorn  condition.  By  the 
energy  of  Father  Brandt,  however,  things  soon  assumed  a  different 
aspect.  Aided  by  the  more  generous  portion  of  the  congregation, 
he  w^as  soon  enabled  to  replace  the  rickety  wooden  steps  in  front 
of  the  church  with  substantial  stone  steps.  A  new  altar  and 
statues  were  also  procured.  Vestments,  chalises,  and  other  church 
utensils  were  purchased  and  donated  by  the  various  societies. 
December  i,  1858,  the  house  west  of  the  church  was  bought  for  a 
parsonage.  In  i860  the  steeple  was  built,  and  a  beautiful  chime 
of  bells  placed  in  it.  In  1864  a  large  organ  was  bought.  March 
6,  1865,  a  dwelling,  situated  immediately  east  of  the  church,  and 
better  suited  for  a  pastoral  residence,  was  secured  for  $3,000. 
The  school-house,  in  the  rear  of  the  church,  becoming  too  small 
for  the  number  of  children  in  attendance,  a  large  three-story  brick 
building  near  the  church  was  purchased  on  September  13,  1865, 
for  the  sum  of  $6,000  and  fitted  up  for  a  school-house.  November 
20,  1867,  fourteen  acres  of  land,  about  one  mile  north  of  the 
church,  were  bought  for  $2,000  for  cemetery  purposes.  The 
church,  becoming  too  small,  fifty  feet  were  added  to  its  length  in 

~{365) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

1869,  and  the  interior  of  the  church  frescoed.  In  1876  the  con- 
gregation deemed  a  better  and  more  convenient  school-house  a 
necessity.  Preparations  for  it  were  made  April  8,  1876,  by  the 
purchase  of  a  house  and  lot  immediately  west  of  the  first  pastoral 
residence,  for  the  sum  of  $2,500.  This  purchase  furnished  the 
Sisters,  who  taught  the  girls  of  the  congregation,  a  suitable  dwell- 
ing, and  also  sufftcient  additional  ground  for  the  school.  The  old 
pastoral  residence  was  removed,  and  an  imposing  edifice,  contain- 
ing four  large  school-rooms  and  a  large,  well  ventilated  hall,  was 
completed  in  1877,  at  a  cost  of  $7,000.  This  school-house  is  an 
ornament  to  the  city,  and  the  crowning  act  of  Father  Brandt's 
great  work  at  Madison.  Father  Brandt's  labors  were  not  wholly 
confined  to  Madison.  He  had  several  missions  to  attend;  one  of 
them  was  Indianapolis,  which  he  attended  on  the  third  Sunday  of 
the  month,  and  where  he  commenced  the  building  of  the  present 
St.  Mary's  church.  We  can  barely  realize  all  the  hard  work  done 
by  the  indefatigable  Father  Brandt;  however,  it  is  all  recorded  in 
the  Book  of  Life.  After  a  lingering,  painful  illness.  Father  Brandt 
departed  this  life  on  April  13,  1881,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his 
age.  He  had  the  following  priests  for  assistants:  Rev.  G.  H. 
Ostlangenberg,  from  May  to  November,  1861;  Rev.  Theodore 
Antoni,  from  May  to  December,  1866;  Rev.  Francis  Torbeck, 
from  February,  1878,  to  May,  1881.  The  latter  had  charge  of 
the  congregation  until  Father  Brandt's  successor  was  appointed. 
Father  Brandt  was  ordained  by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  at  Vincennes, 
as  follows:  Tonsure  and  minor  orders,  December  13;  subdeacon, 
December  26;  deacon,  December  27,  1852;  priest,  January  i, 
1853.  His  first  mission  was  St.  John  Baptist's  German  congrega- 
tion at  Vincennes.      From  there  he  came  to  Madison. 

Very  Rev.  J.  B.  H.  Seepe  is  the  present  efficient  pastor  of  St. 
Mar5''s,  and  his  personal  sketch  will  be  found  in  Vol.  II. 

St.  Michael's  Church,  at  Madison,  was  founded  m  1837,  ^^e 
first  resident  priest  being  the  Rev.  Michael  Edgar  Shawe,.  who 
came  to  assume  his  pastoral  duties  March  12.  His  first  baptismal 
record  was  July  30,  and  from  November,  1837,  to  June,  1838,  he 
was  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  F.  Plunkett,  but  it  was  not  until  Decem- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

ber  22,  1839,  that  the  first  St.  Michael's  church  was  dedicated  to 
the  service  of  God,  and  to  Father  Shawe  is  due  the  credit  of  hav- 
ing raised  the  funds  to  defray  the  cost  of  the  erection  of  the  build- 
ing. Rev.  Etienne  Chartier  succeeded  Father  Shawe  in  Novem- 
ber, 1840,  and  remained  until  September,  1841,  and  after  him 
came  Rev.  Vincent  Bacciuelin,  who  resided  in  Madison  from  Jan- 
uary to  April,  1842,  and,  following  him,  Rev.  F.  Miller  remained 
from  May  to  November,  1842. 

The  Rev.  Julian  Delaune  took  charge  of  St.  Michael's  church 
on  the  loth  of  August,  1843,  and  resided  at  Madison  until  June, 
1846.  To  this  zealous  priest  the  Catholics  of  Madison  owe  a  debt 
of  gratitude  for  his  untiring  endeavors  to  establish  Catholic  schools. 
He  opened  his  school  September  26,  1843,  at  first,  for  want  of 
better  accommodations,  in  the  church,  and  afterward  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  church,  which  had  been  fitted  up  for  that  purpose. 
The  school  was  in  charge  of  the  Brothers  of  St.  Joseph.  In  the 
following  year  Father  Delaune  engaged  the  Sisters  of  Providence 
to  take  charge  of  his  school.  They  came  to  Madison  on  the  27th 
day  of  August,  1844,  and  opened  their  school  on  Broadway  and 
Third  streets,  where  they  remained  until  1868.  In  that  year  they 
purchased  their  prop  erty  on  Second  and  Mulberry  streets  (the 
Academy  of  the  Holy  Angels),  afterward  sold  and  is  now  the  Madi- 
son Hotel,  the  Sisters  returning  to  Broadway  and  Third  streets. 
Before  his  advent  in  Madison  Father  Delaune  had  charge  of  St. 
Patrick's,  St.  Peter's  and  St.  Mary's,  in  Daviess  county.  In  June, 
1846,  leaving  Madison,  he  became  president  of  St.  Mary's  college, 
in  Louisville,  and  conducted  it  with  ability  and  success  for  two 
years.  Encouraged  by  propositions  that  were  made  him  he  went 
to  Rochester,  in  the  diocese  of  Buffalo,  to  assume  the  direction  of 
a  new  college  in  that  city.  But  sickness  soon  compelled  him  to 
suspend  his  functions.  He  was  a  native  of  France,  and  returning, 
died  in  Paris,  France,  on  May  4,  1849,  aged  about  thirty-seven 
years.  He  was  a  pious,  active,  zealous,  devoted  and  charitable 
priest,  and  a  man  of  much  energy  of  character  and  earnestness  of 
purpose. 

After  the  short  pastorate  of  Rev.  Daniel  Maloney,  from  July 
to  September,   1846,  the  Rev.  Maurice  de  St.  Palais  was  appointed 

"(367) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

pastor  of  St.  Michael's  church  in  October,  1846.  He  was  recalled 
by  his  Bishop  in  December,  1847,  ^o  ^H  ^^e  important  office  of 
vicar-^eneral  and  superior  of  the  ecclesiastical  seminary  at  Vin- 
cennes.  During  his  short  stay  this  self-sacrificing  priest  did  much 
to  promote  the  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  congregation. 

The  Rev.  Hippolyte  Dupontavice  was  Father  de  St.  Palais' 
immediate  successor.  Under  his  long  and  auspicious  administra- 
tion of  nearly  twenty-seven  years  St.  Michael's  church  visibly 
flourished  and  spread.  At  North  Madison,  a  suburb  of  Madison, 
he  built  St.  Patrick's  church  about  1854.  The  Catholics  having 
no  cemetery  of  their  own  he  purchased  several  acres  of  land  near 
North  Madison  and  built  on  it  a  mortuary  chapel.  He  was  the 
soul  of  every  enterprise  that  tended  to  benefit  religion;  and  being 
of  a  noble  and  generous  disposition  he  became  endeared  to  the 
hearts  of  all  that  came  in  contact  with  him.  He  was  a  native  of 
France  and  came  to  this  country  in  1839,  being  the  first  priest 
ordained  by  Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere  on  November  30  of  the  same 
year.  He  labored  in  Illinois  until  it  became  separated  from  the 
diocese  of  Vincennes,  when  he  was  sent  to  Washington,  Daviess 
county.  He  was  called  to  his  eternal  reward  on  Ma\  27,  1874, 
aged  sixty-four  years. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Petit  succeeded  Father  Dupontavice.  He 
followed  closely  in  the  footsteps  of  his  revered  predecessor.  By 
his  efforts  the  debts  of  St.  Michael's  church  were  considerably 
reduced.  To  the  great  sorrow  of  his  congregation.  Father  Petit, 
in  the  prime  of  life,  died  on  September  10,  1881.  He  was  born  at 
Forbache,  Loraine,  March  19,  1834,  and  was  educated  at  the 
house  of  his  uncle,  a  priest,  entering  the  seminary  at  the  age  of 
nineteen.  At  twenty-two  he  joined  the  Dominicans,  and  was  with 
Lacordaire,  but  after  some  time  left  on  account  of  ill  health  and 
spent  a  while  at  All  Hallows,  Dublin,  after  which  he  joined  Bishop 
Yunker,  of  Alton,  111.,  and  was  ordained  by  him.  His  first  mission 
was  at  St.  Marie,  a  French  village  in  Illinois.  In  1864  he  was 
received  into  the  diocese  of  Vincennes  and  became  assistant  at  St. 
John's  church,  Indianapolis,  and  later  was  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's 
church.  Returning  from  a  visit  to  France  in  1869,  he  was  again 
at  St.    John's,    and    in    1873  built  St.   Joseph's  church.      He  was 

(368r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

removed  from  St.  Joseph's  at  his  own  option  to  St.  Michael's, 
Madison.  The  Rev.  John  Mougin  was  pastor  of  St.  Michael's 
church  for  ten  months.  Rev.  Edward  M.  Faller  took  charge  of 
St.  Michael's  church  on  October  12,  1882,  and  of  this  reverend 
gentleman  a  biographical  sketch  will  be  found  on  another  page. 
From  July,  1885,  Rev.  I^ouis  Gueguen  held  the  pastorate  of  St. 
Michael's  until  November,  1890,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the 
cathedral  at   Vincennes. 

The  present  pastor  of  St.  Michael's  is  the  Rev.  M.  L.  Guth- 
neck,  of  whose  worthy  labors  here  record  is  also  made  in  another 
part  of  these  volumes. 

MAKIAH   IllIJ.,    SPENCER  COUNTY. 

Help  of  Christians  Church. — The  first  mass  was  said  in  this 
parish  in  1857  in  a  frame  church,  on  a  day  within  the  octave  of 
the  festival  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  by  Rev.  Father  Ulrich  Christen,  O.  S.  B.,  from  Ferdinand, 
and  on  May  24,  1858,  the  first  patron  feast  was  celebrated; 
Fathers  Ulrich  Christen,  O.  S.  B.  and  Isidor  Hobi,  O.  S.  B.,  were 
present.  In  i860,  April  24,  ihe  town  was  laid  out  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Rev.  Father  Isidor  Hobi,  O.  S.  B.,  and  in  1865,  May  24,  the 
corner-stone  of  the  present  church  v/as  laid,  by  Father  Isidor 
Hobi  ,0.  S.  B. ;  Rev.  Fintan  Mundw.ler,  O.  S.  B.,  preached  the  ser- 
mon, and  Rev.  Fidelis  Maute,  O.  S.  B.,  from  St.  Meinrad,  was  pres- 
ent as  the  attendant  priest. 

Father  Ulrich  Christen,  O.  S.  B.,  was  the  attendant  priest 
from  1857  to  September,  1858,  from  Ferdinand,  then  Father 
Isidor  Hobi,  O.  S.  B.,  from  October,  1858,  to  October,  i860.  In 
1859  the  site  for  the  cemetery  was  selected. 

The  parish  was  in  charge  of  Rev.  Finten  Mundwiler,  O.  S. 
B. ,  from  i860  to  1862.  and  there  were  about  forty  families  in  the 
congregation.  The  next  priest  was  Father  Martin  Marty,  O.  S. 
B.,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Father  Wolfgang  Schlumpf,  O.  S.  B. ; 
then  came  Father  Fidelis  Maute,  O.  S.  B.,  who  began  the 
erection  of  the  present  stone  church,  mentioned  already  above. 

After  Father  Fidelis'  time  the  parish  was  attended  by  Bene- 
dictines from  St.  Meinrad  until   1873,    as  foLows:      Revs.    Henry 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Hug,  Benno  Gerber,  Placidus  Zarn  and  Isidor  Hobi,  The  latter 
priest  erected  the  priest's  home  in  November.    1873. 

Rev.  Conrad  Ackerman,  O.  S.  B.,  was  the  first  resident  priest; 
he  took  charge  of  the  parish  in  November,  1873;  he  was  followed 
by  Rev.  Alphonse  Leute,  O.  S.  B.,  and  he  was  succeeded  by 
Revs.  Wolfgang  Schlumpf,  Ildephonse  Zarn,  Silvan  Buschor  and 
Alexander  Burkart,  all  Benedictines.  The  latter  was  succeeded  by 
the  present  priest,  Rev.  Maurice  Wagner,  O.  S.  B.,  who  came  to 
the  parish  September  22,  1883,  and  is  yet  the  efficient  priest. 

The  parish  is  out  of  debt  and  in  a  flourishing  state.  The 
priests  and  nuns  who  came  from  Help  of  the  Christian  parish  are 
as  follows:  Revs.  Simon  Barber,  Bernard  Heichelbach,  and  Vin- 
cent Wagner,  all  O.  S.  B. ;  Charles  Wagner,  Secular;  Benno 
Schum,  C.  SS.  R.,  and  Marcus  Meyer,  O.  S.  B. ;  Sister  Hilde- 
gard  Schum,  Anselma  Bettag,  Rosa  Bettag,  Bonifacia  Jochim, 
Chunigund  Jochim,  Ignatia  Wagner  and  Clara  W^agner,  all  O.  S. 
B. ;  also  Sisters  Martha  Schwop  (Urseline),  Agnes  Demuth,  O. 
S.  B. ,  and  Clementina  Roos,  O.  S.  B.,  the  last  three  named  being 
deceased. 

MARTIN    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Parish,  of  Martin  county,  was  formerly  attached 
to  St.  Michael's  under  the  guidance  of  Father  Matthews,  pastor  of 
St.  Michael's.  Before  the  organization  of  St.  Michael's  it  was 
attended  by  the  pastors  of  St.  Mary's.  In  1848  it  was  known  as 
Miles  Settlement,  and  the  following  families  attended:  Miles, 
Carrico,  Oueen,  Clements,  Ash,  Strange  and  Kidwell,  who  were 
all  Kentuckians  or  Marylanders.  In  1850  a  station  was  estab- 
lished, near  Salem,  at  Henry  Green's.  There  were  also  stations 
established  at  Wade's,  northwest  of  St.  Mary's,  and  at  Bloom- 
field  and  Scotland,  in  Greene  county.  The  stations  attached 
were  also  attended  from  St.  Mary's,  mass  being  said  alter- 
nate Sundays  at  Mt.  Pleasant  and  St.  Mary's.  The  church 
now  known  as  St.  Joseph's  was  built  about  1880.  A  pre- 
vious one,  in  what  is  known  properly  as  the  Miles  Set- 
tlement, was  about  four  miles  northeast  of  the  present  building, 
and  over  this  Father  Murphy  had  the  administration,  as  well  as  at 

(370P 


IN    THK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

St.  Joseph's.  One  of  the  parishioners  was  Bazel  Clements,  a  pio- 
neer settler,  and  in  1840  he  gave  a  bond  to  Joseph  Queen,  for  a 
deed  to  one  acre  of  land  "in  the  district  of  lands  offered  for  sale  at 
Vincennes,  on  condition  that  Joseph  Queen  would  finish  the  then 
incomplete  church."  So  it  seems  that  a  church  was  started  there 
previous  to  1840,  but  those  that  lived  in  that  locality  usually  give 
1854  as  the  date  of  building  the  first  church,  which  they  say  was 
never  finished,  and  1880  as  the  date  of  the  present  church,  which 
is  about  four  miles  southwest  of  the  first.  The  bond  above  referred 
to.  and  still  to  be  seen,  was  written  and  attested  by  William  Sha- 
rum,  a  justice  of  the  peace;  Charles  Jones  witnessed  the  signature 
with  merely  his  mark. 

St.    Martin's    Church.— In     November,     1883,    St.    Martin's 
received  its  first   resident  pastor,  in   the   person  of   Rev.  Charles 
Curran.      He  at  once  set  to  work  with  an  earnestness  and   deter- 
mination that,  in  conjunction  with   the  willing   aid   given   by    the 
people,  he  soon  made  the  rather  lonely  and  isolated   church   look 
far  more  inviting  and  attractive.      Some  of  the   trees   and  under- 
growth were  cleared  away,  the  church  was  roofed   and  furnished 
interiorly  with  pews,  vestry,  etc.,  and  a  new   house  was  built  for 
the  pastor.      This  was  all  accomplished  in  the   one  year   and  ten 
months  that  Father  Curran  was  here,  and  he  left  without  leaving 
any  debt  behind,  in  September,   1885.      He  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  W.  H.  Slaven,  but  recently  ordained.      This  was  the  latter's 
first  parish,  and  he  fell  in  with  the   modern   economy  of  keeping 
things  in  good  repair  and  of  gradually  making  improvements.      He 
furnished  the  residence,  which  is  a  two-story  frame  of  eight  rooms, 
well  arranged;  built  a  sacristy  to  the  church,  added  some  improve- 
ments inside,  purchased  a  fine  bell,  which  was  blessed  by  the  Rev. 
J.  W.  Doyle,  of  Washington,  and  built  an  eighty-six-foot  tower, 
in  which  the  bell  hangs.      The  church  has  also  been  ceiled  and  the 
ceihng  nicely  painted.      In  the  words   of   Father  Slaven,  used  at 
that  time,    "No    one  or   few  deserve  particular   praise.      We  all 
work  together  and  credits  are  to   be  equally   divided.      Such   are 
they  happy  circumstances  under  which  so  much   has  been  accom- 
plished by  this  young  congregation,  as  I  may  call  it,  though  it  is 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  successor  of  the  very  old  parish  at  Mt.  Pleasant.  Nor  is  it  in 
a  material  way  alone  that  the  parish  is  being  built  up.  The  right 
reverend  bishop  visited  the  parish  this  summer  and  twenty-five  boys 
and  thirty  girls,  all  well  prepared,  were  confirmed.  As  there  is  no 
regular  parochial  school  in  the  parish,  the  amount  of  labor  entailed 
is  easily  understood."  Subsequently,  the  pastor  provided  amis- 
sion "for  his  people  and  it  was  productive  of  much  good.  The  con- 
gregation is  composed  of  the  descendants  of  the  early  settlers, 
chiefly  from  Kentucky,  and  of  those  who  worked  on  the  old  pike 
from  New  Albany  westward,  and  half  are  Irish,  or  of  Irish  descent. 
In  the  four  years  that  Father  Slaven  was  in  charge  he  had  1 1 3 
infant  baptisms  and  only  seven  funerals,  two  of  the  latter  being 
those  of  Richard  Arvin  and  a  Mrs.  Kelly,  both  aged  persons.  An 
annual  festival  or  picnic  is  usually  given  by  the  congregation, 
which  is  always  successful  from  both  a  financial  and  a  social  point 
of  view.  Father  Slaven  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  James  Strem- 
ler,  D.  D.,  the  present  pastor. 

ST.     MAURICE,     DECATUR    COUNTY. 

St.  Maurice  village  was  laid  out  in  1858  and  was  named  St. 
Maurice  because  of  the  protection  of  Bishop  Maurice  de  St. 
Palias.  The  School  Brothers  started  an  educational  institution, 
but  after  the  death  of  Brother  John  Mary  Weitman  it  was  aban- 
doned. The  Brothers  had  laid  out  the  town  on  forty  acres  of 
ground,  of  which  9.35  acres  belonged  to  St.  Maurice's  congrega- 
tion. What  is  now  used  as  the  larger  school-room  was  originally 
built  and  used  as  the  chapel.  The  parish  of  St.  Maurice  came 
under  the  care  of  Enochsburg  parish  and  the  church  records  begin 
in  1862. 

The  first  church  building,  which  was  a  frame,  now  used  as  a 
school-house,  was  erected  in  1858  by  Brother  John  Mary  Weit- 
man, and  here  mass  was  first  said  by  the  Franciscan  priest  at 
Enochsburg.  There  were  sixteen  families  in  the  parish  at  that 
time.  The  ten  acres  of  ground  and  the  school-building  cost  $2,000. 
They  raised  $1,000  and  borrowed  the  remainder.  The  first  resi- 
dent priest  was  appointed  in  1884,  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Ferdi- 
nand Hundt,  who  remained  until    1886.      He    was   succeeded   by 

(372) 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol"    INDIANA. 

Rev.  Father  Francis  X.  Seegtnuller,  who  remained  until  January 
28.  1 891,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  the  present  efficient  rector, 
Rev.  John  B.  Unverzagt. 

The  present  beautiful  church  was  erected  in  i88r  and  1882 
by  Rev.  Charles  Schoeppner,  and  on  September  24.  1882,  was 
dedicated  by  Bishop  Chatard.  The  total  cost  of  the  church-build- 
ing is  placed  at  $10,000.  The  rectory  was  finished  in  1885,  at  a 
cost  of  $2,200.  The  parish  property  is  beautifully  located,  cleanly 
kept,  and  is  valued  at  $20,000. 

MILLERSBURC,    ELKHART    COrXTV. 

St.  Henry's  Congregation,  at  Millersburg,  was  attended  as  a 
mission  from  Avilla,  Noble  county,  from  1863,  and  mass  said  in 
various  houses  until  it  became  a  mission  of  Goshen,  when  Rev. 
H.  A.  Boeckelmann  visited  the  parish  and  erected  a  church,  'although 
it  was  due  to  the  efforts  of  Father  Duehmig  that  the  first  subcrip- 
tions  were  taken  up  for  this  purpose.  The  church  building,  30  x 
46  feet,  was  finally  completed  by  Father  Boeckelman,  and  was 
dedicated  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  A.  J.  Kroeger.  The  con- 
gregation at  that  time  numbered  about  twenty  families,  but  the 
number  has  since  decreased,  and  they  are  mostly  Germans.  For 
a  long  time  the  congregation  remained  as  a  mission  of  Avilla  and 
Goshen,  but  is  now  a  mission  attended  to  by  the  clergy  of  St. 
Patrick's,    Ligonier. 

MILLHOUSEX,    DECATUK    COUXTV. 

The  Immaculate  Conception,  at  Millhousen,  Ind..  Rev.  J.  P. 
Gillig,  pastor,  was  the  first  Catholic  parish  organized  in  the  county 
of  Decatur. 

As  early  as  1840,  Maximilian  Schneider  donated  forty  acres  of 
land,  June  20,  in  trust,'  to  Right  Rev.  Celestine  de  la  Hailandiere, 
bishop  of  Vincennes,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Catholics  of  Millhousen, 
and  in  the  same  year  the  congregation,  consisting  of  thirteen  fam- 
ilies, decided  to  erect  a  house  of  worship.  This  was  a  plain  log 
building,  20x24  feet,  with  a  rough  exterior,  chinked  and  daubed 
with  mud,  and  was  constructed  under  the  auspices  of  Rev.  Joseph 
Ferneding.      The  flock  was  comprised  of  Germans,  and  among  the 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

foremost  of  these  in  promoting  the  interests  of  the  congregation  as 
well  as  of  the  town,  was  Bernard  Hardebeck.  The  first  mission- 
ary priests  following  Father  Ferneding  were  Revs.  Conrad  Schnie- 
derjans,  M.  O'Rourke  and  Ramon  Weinzoepfel,  who  labored  until 
1843.  From  1843  until  1854,  Rev.  Alphonse  Munschina  and  Rev. 
Joseph  Rudolf  were  the  only  two  laborers  in  this  field,  and  of  these 
Father  Rudolf,  whose  residence  was  at  Oldenburg,  performed  pro- 
digious work,  visiting  Franklin,  Dearborn,  Ripley  and  Decatur 
counties. 

The  increase  of  Catholics  at  Millhousen  was  surprising,  where- 
fore they  determined  to  build,  instead  of  the  wooden  church,,  a 
good-sized  brick  church,  38x60  feet.  This  was  completed  in 
1850,  and  dedicated  as  St.  Boniface's  church.  As  the  Rev.  Al- 
phonse Munschina,  who  had  charge  of  the  church,  resided  at  St. 
Ann's,  Jennings  county,  it  was  deemed  expedient  by  the  people  to 
have  a  priest  residing  in  their  midst;  at  their  request,  Rev.  Peter 
Kreusch  built,  in  1856,  the  present  parish  house,  which  at  the  time 
was  the  finest  in  the  diocese.  In  1857  he  erected  a  large  school-house 
and  now  the  congregation  have  two  splendid  brick  school-buildings, 
and  the  schools  are  attended  by  170  pupils.  The  schools  are  in 
charge  of  the  Franciscan  Sisters  of  Oldenburg,  assisted  by  a  lay 
teacher  for  boys.  The  erection  of  the  church  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  55  x  140  feet  and  46^  feet  in  height,  was  commenced 
under  Rev.  F.  Hundt,  the  ceremonies  of  laying  the  corner-stone 
occurring  May  24,  1867,  and  the  building  was  completed  under  the 
pastorate  of  Rev.  Dr.  Hueser  and  dedicated  August  4,  1869.  No- 
vember 7,  1870,  Rev.  F.  W.  Pepersack  took  charge  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  July,  1885,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Schuck,  and  he,  in  1891,  by 
the  present  pastor,  Rev.  John  P.  Gillig.  In  1892-93  a  spire  was 
built,  so  that  now  the  whole  height  is  about  175  feet.  The  con- 
gregation consists  of  about  175  families. 

MISHAWAKA,     ST.     JOSEPH    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church  at  Mishawaka. — By  reference  to  page 
1104,  vol.  II  of  this  history,  the  reader  will  find,  in  the  personal 
sketch  of  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering,  that  he  was  appointed  pastor 
of  St.  Joseph's  church  at  Mishawaka  May  17,   1867.      Prior  to  that 

(374)" 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

date  the  parish  had  been  in  a  most  flourishing  condition,  and 
Father  Oechtering  has  continued  to  improve  this  happy  state  of 
affairs. 

In  1886  the  building  was  found  to  be  entirely  inadequate  for 
the  wants  of  the  congregation,  and  a  fund  for  the  building  of  a  new 
church  was  started  by  Father  Oechtering,  and  in  1890  active 
preparations  were  begun  for  the  erection  of  a  new  church,  but  it 
was  defe:red  on  account  of  the  pastor's  poor  health,  and  five 
months  of  that  year  were  spent  in  traveling  through  Europe  in 
search  of  health,  and  he  was  much  benefited  by  the  change. 

Upon  his  return  he  began  active  work  again,  and  in  the 
beginning  of  1891  the  foundation  was  laid  and  the  corner-stone 
placed  in  position  by  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  of  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  the  ceremony  taking  place  August  30,  1891,  before  an 
audience  of  about  10,000  people.  The  total  cost  of  the  new 
church  was  nearly  $50,000.  It  is  160x60  feet,  its  spire  rising  to 
the  height  of  180  feet,  and  it  was  first  occupied  for  divine  worship 
in  October,   1893. 

MONROEVILLE,  ALLEN  COUNTY. 

St.  Rose  of  Lima  Church,  at  Monroeville,  dates  its  history 
from  about  the  year  1850,  when  the  then  Rev.  J.  Benoit  first  min- 
istered to  the  few  Catholic  families  of  the  place,  saying  mass,  alter- 
nately, at  the  homes  of  a  Mr.  Jeffrey  and  a  Mr.  Griffith.  Later  on, 
both  Fathers  Benoit  and  Madden  made  regular  visits  for  a  time  and 
availed  themselves  of  a  room  in  the  house  of  John  Hayes,  as  a 
chapel,  and  following  them,  in  1868,  Rev.  E.  P.  Walters,  from 
Fort  Wayne,  and  after  a  few  monthly  visits,  erected  a  frame  church, 
28x52  feet,  which  served  its  sacred  purpose  for  nineteen  years. 
The  debt  of  $300  resting  upon  this  structure  was  canceled  by  Rev. 
Walters' successor.  Rev.  J.  H.  Brammer,  who  was  succeeded,  in 
turn,  by  Revs.  J.  H.  Graham,  A.  M.  Meili,  A.  Heitman,  T.  Hib- 
belen,  J.  Grogan,  H.  T.  Wilken  and  B.  Hartman.  The  cemetery 
of  the  congregation  was  acquired  during  the  pastorate  of  Father 
Wilken,  and  during  that  of  Father  Hartman  a  pastoral  residence 
was  erected  in  1882.  The  first  resident  pastor  was  the  Rev.  J. 
Grogan,  mentioned   above,  who  was   appointed   in    1884,  but  was 

1375) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

succeedeci,  in  the  same  year  by  Rev.  J.  Hoss,  and  he,  in  1887,  by 
Rev.  B.  Hartman. 

In  October,  of  the  year  last  mentioned,  St.  Rose  of  Lima 
church  was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  at  once  a  subscription  Hst  was 
started,  and  the  handsome  sum  of  $4,500  quickly  raised,  to  which 
sum  the  Protestants  of  the  town  somewhat  contributed,  and  not  at 
all  niggardly.  The  foundation  for  the  new  church  was  begun  in' 
the  spring  of  1888,  and  on  the  first  day  of  July  following  the  cor- 
ner-stone was  laid  by  Bishop  Dwenger.  The  superstructure  is  of 
brick,  is  32x92  feet  in  dimensions,  is  Gothic  in  style,  has  a  spire 
102  feet  in  height,  and  the  total  cost  of  the  building  was  $9,500. 
The  edifice  was  dedicated  May  12,  1889,  by  Bishop  Dwenger,  and 
among  the  several  pastors  who  have  since  attended  none  has  proved 
more  acceptable  than  the  present,  the  Rev.  L.  R.  Paquet. 

MONTGOMERY,     DAVIESS    COUNTY. 

St.  Peter's  is  the  oldest  parish  in  either  Daviess  or  Martin 
county,  and  was  founded  about  181 8.  by  Catholics  from  Ken- 
tucky, a  church -loving  people,  and  they  had  not  long  been  here 
when  they  were  sought  out  by  Fathers  Blanc  and  Champonier,  of 
\'incennes.  The  first  settlers  were  the  Montgomerys,  the  Kid- 
wells,  and  the  Dants,  and  it  was  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Montgomery 
that  mass  was  first  said.  Very  soon— perhaps  in  1820 — these  men, 
under  the  direction  of  Father  Blanc,  built  a  rude  log  church, 
scarcely  16x20  feet.  When  Father  Blanc  w^as  recalled  to  New 
Orleans  in  1820,  he  was  succeeded  in  his  visitations  by  Rev.  Cham- 
ponier, who  visited  the  place  monthly  for  about  two  years.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  L.  P.  Lalumiere,  who  visited  the  settle- 
ment from  Vincennes  for  a  time,  and  afterward  became  its  first 
resident  pastor.  He  is  credited  with  building  a  hewed-log  church, 
24  X  30  feet,  which  was  as  early  as  1823,  and  a  frame  one,  40  x  60 
feet,  which  was  completed  in  1827,  and  blessed  by  Bishop  Flaget 
in  1829,  assisted  by  the  then  young  Father  Abel,  and  on  this  occa- 
sion confirmed  forty-seven  persons.  The  third  church  was  of 
brick.  Part  of  these  bricks  were  intended  for  college  buildings, 
but  with  the  removel  of  Father  Sorin  to  the  northern  part  of  the 
state,  these  buildings  were  lost  sight  of.      The  church  was  built  by 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

French  carpenters  from  Vincennes  under  the  direction  oi  lit.  Rev. 
l^ishop  de  la  Hailandiere,  and  of  Father  Diicoudray,  who  was  later 
its  pastor.  It  is  said  by  some  that  these  carpenters  were  brouj^ht 
over  especially  to  do  the  bishop's  work.  Certain  it  is,  that  much 
of  their  work  was  very  faulty  and  this  church  did  not  last  long. 
One  of  the  subscriptions  later  on  was  for  strengthening  its  walls, 
to  render  it  safe.  This  was  soon  after  Father  Piers  took  charge 
in  1847,  and  it  could  not  have  been  built  longer  than  five  years,  as 
Father  Sorin  left  in  1842.  It  was  then  decided  to  erect  a  new 
church,  and  to  exchange  the  old  site  to  the  proposed  town  of  Mont- 
gomery. This  church  was  completed  in  1869,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000, 
a  great  part  of  the  work  being  done  by  the  parishioners.  Father 
Piers  had  all  the  features  of  the  building  planned  before  he  began 
the  work,  and  carved  out  with  a  pen  knife  a  perfect  model  of  the 
contemplated  structure.  The  church  was  blessed  July  18,  1869, 
and  August  Farrell  and  Sarah  Healey  were  the  first  couple  married 
in  it. 

The  substantial  two-story  frame  school-building  Father  Piers 
put  up  soon  after,  and  in  1885  the  present  school-building  was 
completed.  The  bell  tower  and  steeple  were  put  on  the  church  in 
1887,  and  a  fine  new  bell  was  purchased.  The  parochial  school  is 
maintained  ten  months  in  the  year,  with  a  good  enrolment,  though 
a  large  number  of  the  scholars  are  from  the  country.  John  Byrne 
taught  here,  or  in  the  parish,  during  war-times,  and  left  behind 
him  some  creditable  work  in  the  way  of  well-trained  minds — sev- 
eral of  his  pupils  subsequently  figuring  conspicuously  in  the  affairs 
of  Daviess  county.  Miss  Annie  Byrne,  a  niece  of  Father  Piers, 
also  conducted  the  school  creditably  a  number  of  years,  and  after- 
ward a  Frank  Walker. 

The  succession  of  clergy,  as  gleaned  from  records  and  tradi- 
tions, is  as  follows,  with  no  uncertainty,  unless  as  to  e.xactness  of 
two  or  thee  dates:  Rev.  Napoleon  Blanc,  previous  to  1820;  Rev. 
M.  Champonier,  1820  to  the  time  when  Rev.  S.  P.  Lalumiere  took 
charge,  and  remained  until  1837;  Rev.  M.  de  St.  Palais  until 
1839;  Rev.  J.  Delaune  until  1841;  Rev.  Granedir  only  transiently; 
Rev.  E.  Sorin  until  1843;  Revs.  Chartier,  Courjault,  Francois 
Parret,  transiently  during  1843  after  the  departure  of  Father  Sorin; 

23  ~Wf) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Father  Ducoudra}-,  1842  (end  of  year)  until  1847;  then  Father 
Barthol  Piers  until  1895,  when  Father  P.  Rowan  took  charge,  and 
the  same  priest  remains  yet,  in  1898. 

In  discussing  the  early  history  of  St.  Peter's  parish,  we  may 
add:  In  connection^with  Rev.  Father  Sorin's  stay  in  this  parish, 
the  following  will  be  of  interest.  In  August,  1888,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  celebration  of  Father  Sorin's  jubilee,  at  Notre  Dame,  John 
Breen  and  a  Mr.  Kelley  were  the  only  ones  present  from  the  local- 
ity of  St.  Peter's.  During  their  stay  Mr.  Breen,  in  conversation 
with  Father  Sorin,  referred  to  the  tradition  among  the  people  here 
as  to  his  intending  to  found  a  college  at  St.  Peter's,  and  he  told 
this  incident  of  his  stay  here: 

Yes;  I  with  some  of  the  brothers  was  temporarily  at  St. 
Peter's.  We  were  upon  very  close  rations,  too.  One  day  a  neigh- 
bor named  Hayes  came  to  see  me  and  asked  how  I  was,  etc.  I 
told  him  I  was  not  feeling  well,  that  I  had  not  had  anything  for 
dinner  that  da}-.  He  at  once  requested  me  to  send  some  of  the 
brothers  with  him  and  he  would  see  that  I  was  not  without  my  din- 
ner another  day.  I  did  so,  and  soon  we  had  several  sacks  of  meal, 
meat,  and  other  desirable  provisions. 

On  the  same  occasion  he  related  to  Mr.  Breen  the  circum- 
stances of  his  leaving  the  southern  for  the  northern  part  of  the 
state  as  follows: 

Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere  sent  for  me  and  told  me  of  the 
extensive  lands  near  the  lakes  in  the  north,  and  offered  them  to 
me  on  the  condition  that  I  would  found  a  college  there;  I  did  not 
want  to  go,  but  he  insisted,  and  proffered  me  his  horse  to  ride;  I 
went,  and  the  trip  took  me  a  week.  I  was  pleased  w^ith  the  place 
and  at  once  made  arrangements  to  establish  ourselves. 

Of  the  brothers  who  left  St.  Peter's  with  Father  Sorin,  two, 
Brother  Vincent,  ninety-three  years  of  age,  and  Brother  Xavier, 
over  sixty-six  years  old,  were  living  in  the  year  1889,  but  are  now 
deceased  (March  i),  1898. 

In  his  sermon  at  the  golden  jubilee  of  Father  Sorin,  at  Notre 
Dame,  in  August,  1888.  Bishop  Ireland  spoke  of  six  brothers  who 
came  with  Father  Sorin  from  France,  1841  as  the  year  of  his 
coming  and  1842  as   the  year  he  first  set  foot  on  the  banks  of  the 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol'    INDIANA. 

St.  Joe  river.  This  aj^rees  with  existing'  records  and  traditions, 
and  the  names  of  these  six  brothers  are  well  remembered  by 
several.  The  following  were  named  by  Miss  Lizzie  O'Dell,  who 
went  to  school  to  these  brothers,  viz:  Anselm,  Gashien,  Joachim, 
Lawrence  Vincent,  Francis  and  Marien;  one,  who  was  known  as 
Brother  Joseph,  was  teaching  at  St.  Peter's  when  the  above-men- 
tioned arrived.  He  had  been  connected  with  the  Trappist  order 
of  Europe,  but  could  not  endure  the  severities  of  their  rule  and  left. 
About  ten  others  joined  them,  but  when  they  left  for  the  north, 
these  latter,  who  were  young  men  of  the  surrounding  neighbor- 
hood, did  not  go  along,  not  having  taken  their  obligations.  When 
they  left  St.  Peter's  they  had  the  land  they  were  on  nearly  all  in 
wheat,  having  leased  much  of  it  in  order  to  have  it  cleared.  There 
were  no  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  with  Father  Sorin. 

Father  Lalumiere  had  introduced  the  Sisters  of  Charity  at  an 
earlier  date,  but  they  remained  but  a  short  time;  later,  Father 
Ducoudray  induced  the  Sisters  to  establish  a  school  here,  but  they 
only  remained  about  three  years,  when  they  withdrew. 

St.  Peter's  cemetery  is  the  most  historic  of  all  the  parochial 
burying  grounds  in  Daviess  county,  because  it  contains  the  remains 
of  early  settlers  from  other  parishes,  or  at  least  many  of  them. 

Since  the  beginning  of  Father  Rowan's  pastorate  of  St.  Peter's 
parish,  in  1895,  wonderful  improvements  have  been  perfected,  in 
church,  school  and  parish.  The  improvements  prominent  which 
have  been  made  during  his  pastorate  are  the  interior  decorations, 
the  covering  of  the  church  with  a  slate  roof,  and  new  oaken  seats 
of  superior  workmanship.  The  parochial  school,  under  the  charge 
of  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  has  also  been  established.  The  ele- 
gant home  of  the  priest,  erected  of  brick  and  stone  of  the  most 
modern  style  of  architecture,  with  modern  conveniences,  stands 
adjacent  to  the  church  on  the  north  side.  Since  Father  Rowan 
assumed  the  pastoral  duties  of  St.  Peter's,  the  whole  amount  of 
improvements  made  by  him,  from  1895  to  1898,  will  aggregate  to 
almost  $1  1 ,500.  The  value  of  the  Roman  Catholic  property,  in 
Montgomery,  and  the  appendix  at  Cannelburg,  Ind.,  and  including 
the  quarter  section  of  coal  land  one  mile  west  of  the  village,  is  esti- 
mated at  $55,000,  which    indicates  a   marvelous  growth  since  its 

"(379) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

establishment  in  1818.  The  parish  is  in  a  very  healthy  state.  St. 
Peter's  being  the  second  oldest  parish  in  the  state  of  Indiana.  The 
parochial  schools  are  well  attended,  having  an  enrolment  of  about 
140  pupils.  There  are  five  Sisters,  three  as  teachers,  one  as 
instructor  in  music,  and  one  as  cook  and  assistant. 

MONTEREY,    PULASKI    COUNTY. 

St.  Ann's  Church,  at  Monterey,  was  organized  in  1858  by  Rev. 
F.  E.  Nigh,  the  church-building  at  that  time  being  a  small  edifice, 
two  miles  northwest  of  the  village.  In  1883  a  new  church  was 
erected  in  the  village  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  George  Fleisch, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $5,000,  and  the  priest's  residence  was  built  in 
1889  by  Rev.  Charles  Thiele,  at  a  cost  of  $1,700.  It  is  of  brick, 
is  two  stories  high,  and  is  beautifully  located  at  the  back  of  the 
church.  The  school-house  was  erected  by  Father  Thiele  in  1895 
at  a  cost  of  $2,700,  and  the  school  enrolment  reaches  seventy 
pupils,  who  are  under  the  instruction  of  three  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes. 
The  congregation  numbers  sixty-five  families,  mostly  German,  and 
the  sodalities  attached  to  the  church  —  the  German  Rosary  society 
and  the  Young  Ladies'  sodality —  are  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

St.  Ann's  parish  has  been  attended  by  the  holy  clergy  in  the 
following  order:  1869,  Rev.  Henry  Kcenig;  1873,  Rev.  M.  Beatrice 
Ziswyler,  C.  PP.  S;  1876,  Rev.  Theobald  Shoch;  1879,  Rev.  P. 
Conrad  Schneider;  1880,  Rev.  George  Fleisch;  1886,  Rev.  Erhardt 
Fritz,  C.  PP.  S.;  1888,  Rev.  Charles  Thiele;  1898.  Rev.  G.  A. 
Zern —  the  last  named  being  the  present  pastor,  who  is  rapidly 
rising  in  the  esteem  of  his  flock. 

MORRIS,     RIPLEY    COUNTY. 

St.  Anthony's  Church. — About  the  year  1840  some  German 
Catholic  families  began  to  settle  at  Morris,  then  known  as  Spring- 
field, and  in  its  neighborhood.  The  place  received  its  present 
name,  Morris,  in  1856.  These  Catholics  became  members  of  the 
neighboring  congregations  of  Oldenburg  and  St.  Nicholas.  A  log 
school-house  was  erected  in  1855,  measuring  24x18  feet,  on 
ground  (five  acres)  donated  for  church  and  school  purposes.  The 
Catholic  families  at  that  time  numbered  twenty-five. 

(380P 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

After  some  delay  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  gave  his  consent  to  the 
erection  of  a  church.  This  church,  built  of  stone,  was  60x40 
feet,  exclusive  of  sanctuary.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  the 
spring  of  1855,  and  was  dedicated  on  October  29,  1856.  The 
first  mass  in  it  was  said  by  Rev.  Joseph  Rudolf  on  June  13  of  the 
following  year. 

In  i86[  a  stone  school-house  was  erected,  36x24  feet. 
About  the  same  time  a  frame  dwelling  was  built  fcjr  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Francis,  two  of  whom  took  charge  of  the  school.  From  1855 
until  1 86 1  lay  teachers  had  conducted  the  school.  Until  the 
arrival  of  the  first  resident  pastor,  in  1866,  Morris  was  attended 
from  Oldenburg,  five  miles  distant,  once  or  twice  a  month. 
Father  Rudolf's  assistants  who  visited  Morris  may  be  mentioned: 
Rev.  F.  \\'eber,  a  native  of  Switzerland,  Rev.  J.  Weissenberger,  a 
German  priest,  and  Rev.  William  Doyle,  who,  though  an  Irish- 
man, spoke  the  German  language  fiuently.  In  1865  a  two-story 
parsonage  of  bricks,   32  x  22   feet,  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $2,200. 

The  first  resident  pastor  was  the  Rev.  R.  Weinzoepfel,  from 
April  19,  1866,  until  July,  1873.  Partial  loss  of  his  eyesight  and 
other  infirmities  compelled  him  to  resign.  He  subsequentl  became 
a  member  of  St.  Meinrad's  abbey.  Father  Weinzoepfel  built  a 
second  school,  with  residence  for  Sisters,  measuring  52x26  feet, 
at  a  cost  of  only  $3,000.  He  also  procured  new  bells  and  three 
new  altars. 

The  Rev.  John  Stolz  was  pastor  from  1873  until  1878.  He 
provided  a  new  organ  at  a  cost  of  $1,200.  Sickness  compelled 
him  to  resign.  The  Rev.  A.  Danenhoffer  had  charge  from  1878 
until  1882.  He  paid  a  small  balance  of  indebtedness  still  remain- 
ing. Rev.  Caspar  Seller  arrived  in  the  spring  of  1883.  He  was 
born  at  Dietikon,  Switzerland,  on  April  16,  1846,  and  emigrated 
in  1875,  having  been  ordained  priest  in  his  native  country  on  June 
II,  1 87 1.  In  1884  a  new  church  was  erected,  and  in  1888  Rev. 
F.  X.  Girolt  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  parish.  The  labors  of 
this  energetic  priest,  as  well  as  the  subsequent  history  of  St. 
Anthony's,  will  be  found  in  detail  in  the  biographical  sketch  of  this 
reverend  gentleman  in  Vol.  II  of  this  work.  The  parochial  school, 
attached  to  St.  Anthony's,  is  taught  by  three  Sisters  of  St.  Francis, 

"1381) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

and  numbers  an  attendance  of   135,  who  are  progressing  rapidly 
under  the  care  of  these  worthy  Ststers. 

MOUNT  PLEASANT,  MARTIN  COUNTY. 

The  earliest  accounts  traceable  in  regard  to  Catholic  services 
here  extend  back  many  years  anterior  to  the  building  of  a  church. 
The  first  Catholic  settlers  were  here  as  early  as  1819,  at  least.  It 
was  in  that  year  that  O'Brian  came,  and  his  relative  by  marriage, 
one  Jerre  Raney,  came  just  before  or  soon  after.  He  was 
the  grandfather  of  the  present  Jerry  Raney.  At  his  house  the  vis- 
iting priest  read  mass  monthly.  Perhaps  this  priest  was  the  Rev. 
Father  Blanc,  from  Vincennes.  or  it  may  have  been  Rev.  Father 
Champonier.  As  early  as  August,  1823,  Bishop  Flaget  had  con- 
firmed thirty-four  persons  here.  These  confirmations  took  place 
at  the  home  of  Raney,  mentioned  above.  In  1829,  on  Bishop 
Flaget's  sixth  visit,  he  found  at  and  around  Mt.  Pleasant  forty 
Catholic  families.  The  jubilee  was  given  that  year,  at  which  there 
were  seventy  communicants,  and  thirty-one  persons  were  con- 
firmed. The  place  never  had  a  resident  priest,  but  was  visited  by 
perhaps  nearly  all  the  priests  at  St.  Mary's  during  its  time  of 
prosperity.  The  church  was  commenced  by  Rev.  John  Delaune, 
then  at  St.  Peter's,  about  1840,  though  it  was  not  completed  until 
long  after.  Rev.  Lefranc  carried  on  the  work  commenced  by 
Father  Delaune,  but  left  it  unfinished;  after  him  came  Father  Par- 
rett  occasionally  from  Washington;  as  late  as  1859,  Rev.  Father 
John  Mougin  had  a  brick  sanctuary  built  and  some  carpenter  work 
done;  the  former  was  put  up  by  Joseph  Mattingly  and  the  latter  by 
A.  J.  Demoss.  A  modern  steeple  was  also  built  at  this  time  by 
Silas  Hall,  and  thus  the  church  was  finished  about  twenty  years 
after  it  had  been  commenced,  only  soon  to  be  disused  and  torn 
down.  When  the  Loogootee  church  was  built,  this  took  all  the 
parishioners  from  the  St.  Martin's  church  who  were  north  of  Mt. 
Pleasant;  and  as  the  others  were  several  miles  south,  their  needs 
soon  caused  the  building  of  a  church  convenient  to  them. 

The  land  for  the  church  was  given  by  Pagey  Ward  and  the 
change  of  churches  was  made  by  Rev.  Father  L.  Gueguen.  Many 
of  the  old  settlers  are  buried  in  what  was    known   as   the   Patrick 

.(382r 


IN    Till':    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Riley  burying  ground,  but  when  the  church  was  built  at  Mt. 
Pleasant  a  graveyard  was  begun  here,  and  is  even  yet  in  use 
by  St.  Martin's,  or,  as  it  is  often  called,  the  Haw  Creek  con- 
gregation. 

MOUNT  VEKNOX,    POSEY  COUNTY. 

St.  Matthew's  Congregation  at  Mount  Vernon  was  founded, 
in  fact,  about  1857,  although  Rev.  E.  J.  Durbin,  from  Kentucky, 
is  credited  with  visiting  Mount  Vernon  as  far  back  as  1840,  and 
attending  until  1851,  with  a  solitary  exception  in  the  instance  of 
1844,  where  it  is  recorded  that  Rev.  A.  Deydier  and  Rev.  C. 
Schniederjans  attended  the  place.  Be  this  as  it  may.  Rev.  Roman 
Weinzoepfel  was  the  first  to  pay  Mount  Vernon  regular  visits,  cele- 
brating the  august  mysteries  in  the  house  of  the  brothers  Schenk, 
who  settled  there  from  St.  Philip  in  185  i.  A  lot  was  bought  in 
1857,  140  X  140  feet,  for  $660.  Upon  it  was  erected  a  two-story 
brick  building,  40  x  22  feet,  intended  ultimately  for  a  school-house 
or  parsonage,  but  the  flooring  of  the  second  story  being  omitted, 
it  was  at  the  time  used  for  church  purposes.  The  citizens  sub- 
scribed liberally;  the  total  outlay  was  $2,000.  The  church  was 
placed  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Matthew,  and  in  October,  1857, 
was  blessed  by  Rev.  E.  J.  Durbin.  In  July,  1858,  Father  Wein- 
zoepfel  visited  the  place  for  the  last  time. 

Rev.  Patrick  McDermott  attended  from  Evansville  from  Sep- 
tember, 1858,  until  August,  1859.  For  two  years  after  Rev.  Paul 
Wagner  visited  the  place  from  St.  Wendel  on  the  fourth  Sunday 
of  each  month.  It  was  next  attended  from  Vincennes  by  the 
Rev.  John  Contin  and  Rev.  Gustave  Ginnsz  from  1862  until  1865. 
In  1865  the  Rev.  H.  J.  Diestel,  residing  at  St.  Philip's,  took 
charge  of  Mount  Vernon.  He  attended  the  place  faithfully,  and 
in  1867  erected  a  spacious  one-story  frame  house,  which  was  to 
serve  as  school-house  and  parsonage. 

Rev.  J.  F.  Sondermann  was  appointed  the  first  resident  pastor 
at  Mount  Vernon  and  remained  there  from  November  11,  1868, 
until  May  15,  1874.  He  found  a  small  congregation  and  $2,000 
debts.  He  paid  the  debt  in  a  few  years,  and,  beside,  bought 
ground  for  a  cemetery  and   added  a  second  story  to  his  residence, 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

not  mentioning  many  other  improvements.      The  school   also  way 
in  a  flourishing  condition. 

From  May,  1874,  until  in  the  autumn  of  1876,  Rev.  Matthias 
A.  Gillig  was  pastor.  He  left  at  his  own  option.  After  him  the 
congregation  was  without  a  pastor  for  seven  months.  Rev.  J.  J. 
Schoentrup  took  charge  in  July,  1877.  Seeing  that  the  church  was 
entirely  too  small  to  accommodate  the  congregation,  he  concluded 
to  build  a  new  church.  He  obtained  very  liberal  subscriptions 
from  Catholics  and  non-Catholics.  The  church  was  begun  in  the 
summer  of  1879,  and  was  completed  in  July,  1880.  The  building 
is  Roman  style,  112x50  feet,  steeple  146  feet  high.  Bishop  Cha- 
tard  blessed  the  church  October  10,  1880.  The  cost  of  the  build- 
ing was  $10,000,  the  interior  furnishings  $1 ,700.  In  1881,  Father 
Schoentrup  bought  a  property  near  the  church  for  school  purposes 
for  $1,250,  and  introduced  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  to  take  charge 
of  the  parish  school. 

In    December,     1883,    Rev.    Francis    B.    Luebbermann    was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  parish,  and  is  its  present  pastor. 

MUNCIE,     DELAWARE    COUNTY. 

St.  Lawrence  Church. — -About  1853  there  were  but  two  fam- 
ilies in  Muncie,  Delaware  county,  Ind.,  who  affiliated  with  the 
Catholic  religion — those  of  Patrick  Tuhey  and  Nicholas  Eyier — 
and  in  the  dwelling  of  the  former  the  first  mass  was  celebrated  by 
Rev.  Father  Maloney,  of  Indianapolis,  Mr.  Tuhey  being  the  first 
Catholic  to  settle  in  the  then  small  village.  For  four  years  Father 
Maloney  continued  to  make  monthly  visits,  and  prior  to  1858  visits 
were  also  made  by  Fathers  Shellamaker,  Black,  Vanderpoole,  Goe- 
ghan,  Doyle  and  Clarke.  Services  were  held  alternately  at  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  two  early  settlers  already  mentioned,  and  the  reverend 
fathers  also  ministered  at  the  missions  in  Union  City,  Winchester  and 
other  places.  Father  Clarke  was  very  ardent,  and  used  his  best 
exertions  toward  the  erection  of  a  church-building  in  Muncie,  and 
made  excellent  headway  in  the  preliminary  work,  which  greatly 
aided  the  labors  of  his  successors.  In  1862,  Father  Fitzmorris 
began  his  monthly  visits,  and  by  this  time  several  new  families 
were  added  to  the  little  congregation.      In  1869,  Father  LaMoore 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

came,  his  former  charge  ha\ing  been  at  Union  C'ity,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  Father  McMahon;  the  congregation  having  been  increased 
to  seventy-five  famihes,  steps  were  energetically  taken  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  church  edifice.  The  families  were  comparatively  poor, 
but  were  enthusiastic  and  active  in  the  project.  Money  was 
raised  by  subscription,  entertainments  and  donations,  until  it  was 
thought  that  sufScient  was  on  hand  to  warrant  a  commencement — 
all  the  visiting  priests,  however,  having  taken  active  parts  in  bring- 
ing about  the  desired  consummation,  but  Father  McMahon  was  the 
prime  and  impelling  power.  Subsequent  financial  embarrassment, 
however,  dela}'ed  progress,  and  Fath  t  McMahon  temporarily 
abandoned  the  undertaking.  At  this  critical  moment  Bishop 
Luers  came  from  Fort  Wayne  and  put  new  life  and  vigor  into  the 
congregation.  He  purchased  lots  in  block  No.  8,  corner  of  Charles 
and  Hockley  streets,  and  made  up  the  deficiency  which  occa- 
sioned the  embarrassment  of  Father  McMahon.  Father  Lawrence 
LaMoore,  who  was  a  zealous  and  untiring  worker,  was  then  placed 
in  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  first  edifice,  which  was  of 
brick,  35  x  60  feet,  and  cost  $3,500;  the  parsonage,  a  frame  struc- 
ture co5t  $925.  Father  Joseph  A.  Marshall  was  here  for  a  short 
time,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Father  Crawley,  who,  January  24, 
1875,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William  Schmidt,  the  present  pas- 
tor, who,  for  a  time,  also  officiated  at  Montpelier  and  Hartford 
City,  and  under  his  pastorate  has  been  erected  the  present  church 
edifice. 

This  splendid  church  building  was  dedicated  September  8, 
1895,  by  Bishop  Rademacher,  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Hueser  and 
Father  Maujay,  of  Huntington,  Rev.  F.  C.  Mulcahey,  of  Hartford 
City,  and  Father  Guendling,  of  Fort  Wayne.  At  10  o'clock  a.  m. 
the  bishop  blessed  the  church,  and  mass  was  celebrated  at  10:45. 

The  auditorium  has  a  seating  capacity  of  800,  and  the  gallery 
of  200;  the  altar  is  a  magnificent  piece  of  workmanship,  the  furni- 
ture and  finishings  being  in  antique  oak,  the  carvings  being  beauti- 
fully artistic.  The  fresco  work  is  charmingly  beautiful  and  the 
windows  of  the  highest  style  known  to  art,  while  the  pipe-organ  is 
one  of  the  deepest  in  volume  and  melodious  in  tone,  as  well  as  most 
beautiful  of  any  in  the  state.      The  total  cost   of  this   magnificent 

(386) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

house  of  God,  with  its  furnishings,  was  about  $43,000,  and  is  a 
matter  of  pride,  not  only  to  the  Catholic  population  of  Muncie,  but 
to  the  public  in  general,  it  being  one  of  the  city's  chiefest  architec- 
tural adornments.  The  old  church-buildingh  as  been  utilized  for 
school  purposes,  and  is  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes. 

NAPOLEON,    RIPLEY    COUNTY. 

St.  Maurice's  Church. — Prior  to  1848  the  Catholics  of  Napo- 
leon visited  neighboring  missions,  or  were  attended  by  Rev.  Jos. 
Ferneding,  Rev.  Alphonse  Munschina,  Rev.  Joseph  Rudolf  and 
others.  From  1840  until  1848  they  formed  part  of  the  Millhousen 
congregation.  In  1848  Dr.  McMullen,  an  Irish  physician  of 
Napoleon,  donated  two  lots;  and  the  church,  a  frame  building, 
35x18  feet,  was  built  for  the  most  part  by  Mrs.  Mary  Gigos, 
whose  husband  had  been  one  of  the  founders  of  the  town.  The 
congregation  at  that  time  numbered  twenty  families.  The  Rev. 
Alphonse  Munschina,  residing  in  Jennings  county,  attended  Napo- 
leon up  to  1854.  From  1854  until  1858  the  Rev.  John  P.  Kreusch, 
resident  at  Millhousen,  visited  the  place.  After  him  came  Rev.  A. 
Tinkers  in  1858,  Rev.  I.  P.  Vogt  in  1859,  and  Rev.  Jan.  Weissen- 
berger  until  April,  1861.  Rev.  Ign.  Klein,  residing  at  St.  Nich- 
olas, attended  the  place  during  six  months  in  1861.  The  next  on 
record  is  the  Rev.  John  B.  Weikmann,  until  1863. 

Rev.  Ferd  Hundt,  resident  at  Millhousen,  had  charge  for  three 
years.  He  established  the  first  parochial  school  at  Napoleon.  In 
1866  the  congregation  had  increased  to  fifty  families  and  received 
the  Rev.  Theodore  Antoni  for  the  first  resident  pastor.  Additional 
ground  was  purchased  and  a  new — the  present — brick  church  was 
built.  The  building  had  just  been  roofed  when  the  zealous  pastor, 
taking  sick  suddenly,  died  June  14,  1870,  in  the  thirty-fifth  year  of 
his  age  and  the  fifth  of  his  ministry.  A  marble  tablet  in  the  church 
marks  his  resting  place  and  commemorates  his  virtues. 

Napoleon  was  after  that  attended  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Hueser,  D. 
D.,  of  Millhousen,  and  the  Rev.  Fred  Mueller,  during  whose  time 
the  church  was  first  used  for  divine  service.  Rev.  F.  W.  Peper- 
sack,  of  Millhousen,  visited  the  place  until  1872,  when  resident 
pastors  were  again  appointed:      Rev.  J.  J.  Gabriel,   1872-74;  Rev. 


IN    THK    STATK    Ol"    INDIANA. 

H.  Panzer,  1874;  Rev.  Alex.  Koesters,  1874;  Rev.  B.  H.  Kintrup, 
1875,  until  the  spring  of  1878.  Rev.  M.  Heck  now  for  several 
months  visited  Napoleon;  Rev.  W.  Kemper  was  the  next  resident 
pastor.  The  church  was  blessed  by  Bishop  Chatard  on  September 
22,  1879,  and  Father  Kemper  remained  until  February  23,  1880, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Adam  Feigen.  The  present  pas- 
tor is  the  Rev.  Meinrad  Toelle. 

St.  Maurice's  church  measures  about  70x35  feet,  with  a 
steeple  seventy  feet  high.  The  tower  has  two  bells,  one  weighing 
879  pounds.  The  church  contains  handsome  pews,  seating  about 
300  persons.  The  total  cost  of  the  building  was  $9,000,  of  which 
a  small  amount  remains  unpaid.  Father  Kemper  added  a  splendid 
main  altar,  and  Father  Feigen  added  a  new  pulpit,  an  organ,  a  bap- 
tismal font,  and  other  church  furniture. 

NAVILLETON,    FLOYD    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Church. — A  few  German  Catholic  families  having 
settled  in  that  part  of  Floyd  county  where  now  St.  Mary's  church 
stands,  made  at  once  preparations  to  build  a  log  church  in  the  fall  of 
1844.  The  following  year  they  completed  it,  and  invited  the  Rev. 
L.  Neyron,  of  New  Albany,  to  visit  it.  September  8,  1845,  Rev. 
Father  Neyron  held  service  in  it  the  first  time,  dedicated  it,  under 
the  title  of  the  Annunciation,  and  blessed  the  cemetery.  The 
Catholic  families  at  this  time,  who  built  the  church,  were  Michael 
Naville,  Vital  Kastner,  Xavier  Kinberger,  a  Mr.  Stengel  and  a  Mr. 
Miller. 

These  few  families  at  the  log  church,  as  it  was  commonly 
called,  were  visited  by  the  priests  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Knobs  until 
1857,  and  the  Rev.  E.  M.Faller.  of  St.  Mary's.  New  Albany,  had 
charge  till  1862,  when  Rev.  J.  M.  Gabriel  became  the  first  resi- 
dent priest  of  St.  John's  church,  Clark  county,  and  Navilleton  was 
attended  from  this  time  on  by  the  priests  residing  at  St.  John's, 
viz:  Rev.  J.  M.  Gabriel.  1862  till  1872;  Rev.  Lechner.  till  1874; 
Rev.  B.  Brueggemann.  till  1877,  and  Rev.  J.  P.  Gillig,  till  January, 
1 89 1,  when  St.  Mary's  church  became  a  mission  of  Bradford, 
Harrison  county,  and  since  then  it  has  been  attended  regularly 
by  the  priest  residing  at  Bradford. 

~T387J 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  little  congregation  slowly  increased  till  1890,  when  Rev. 
J.  P.  Gillig  made  preparations  to  build  a  new  church.      But  scarcely 
was  the  foundation  for  the  new  church  laid  when  Father  Gillig  was 
called  elsewhere,  and  Rev.  Andrew  Schaaf  placed  in  charge  of  the 
little  congregation,  which  numbered  at   this  time  twenty  families. 
He  at  once  began  to  push  the  preparations  for  the  building  of  the 
new  church,  and  April  6,   1891,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Rev. 
Jos.  Dickmann,  of   St.  Joseph    Hill,  Ind.,  and    on   the   8th   day  of 
September,  same  year,  the  church  was  ready  for  service.      The  first 
mass  was  said  in  it  forty-six  years   to   the  day  that  the  first  mass 
was  said  in  the  little  log  church.      The  people  assisted  most  gener- 
ously in  money  and  work  for  the  new  church;  the  Naville  families 
gave  $1,000  in  money,  and  also  assisted  untiringly  in  manual  work. 
Mention   must  also   be   made  of    Mrs.  Barbara  Ott,  who  gave   six 
acres  of  land   on    which   the  church  stands   and   $200  in   money. 
Frank  Piers,  Jacob  Kiefer  and  Chas.  Leuthart  also  rendered  great 
service.      On  the  day  the  first  mass  was  said  in   the  new  church  a 
bell  of  1,000  pounds,  purchased  at  a  cost  of  $173,  was  consecrated 
by  Rev.  Joseph  Dickmann,  of  St.    Joseph   Hill.      In  the  spring  of 
1892  the  church  was  finished  inside,  frescoed   and  solemnly  dedi- 
cated  by   Rt.  Rev.  F.  S.    Chatard,  D.  D.      The  church  is  40x83 
feet  in  size,  with  a  spire    eighty-seven   feet   high;   is  well  furnished 
with  altars land  statues,  organ  and  pulpit;  a  debt,  when  finished,  of 
$175,  was  paid  the  same  year.      In  1893  a  handsome  school-build- 
ing was   erected,  the   property   generally  improved,  and   two  new 
roads  opened,  one  running  from  the  church  two  miles  west,  and  the 
other  two    miles    east.      In    1894   the   post-office  was  established, 
which  name  the   place   now   bears,  Navilleton.      The  congregation 
had  grown  to  forty  families  in    1895   and   thirty  children  attended 
the  school,  which   is  taught  by  a  lay   teacher.      In  August,  1895, 
Rev.  Andrew  Schaaf,  who  brought  many  sacrifices  for  the  church 
and  school  and  labored   most  zealously   for  nearly  five  years,  was 
transferred  to   Poseyville,  Posey  county,  with   headquarters  at  St. 
Mary's  church  at    Evansville,    and    Rev.  Jos.   Sennefeld    attended 
regularly  till  the   spring  of    1898,  when   he  was  transferred  to  St. 
Thomas,  Knox  county.      Rev.  Chas.    Clever   then    took  charge  of 


(388) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

St.  Mary's   church,  is   the   present  pastor,   and   is   most   zealously 
engaged  for  the  welfare  of  his  Hock. 

NEW    ALBANY,    1"L()YI)    COUNTY. 

Holy  Trinity  Church,  the  oldest  edifice  in  New  Albany,  Ind., 
consecrated  to  Catholicity,  was  erected  in  1837,  and  was  a  frame 
structure  which  suf^ced  the  purposes  of  the  congregation  until 
1 85  I,  when  the  present  brick  church  was  erected.  As  far  back  as 
1829  Bishop  Flaget  has  said  mass  in  the  humble  dwellings  of  the 
five  Catholic  families  then  residents  in  New  Albany,  but  in  1837 
Rev.  I^ouis  Neyron  was  called  to  the  scene,  organized  Holy  Trinity 
parish,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  the  old  frame  church-build- 
ing was  completed  in  which  Father  Neyron  officiated  each  alter- 
nate Sunday  until  the  completion  of  the  new  church,  when  he  came 
to  New  Albany  to  reside  permanently.  It  is  stated  that  the  cost 
of  the  brick  edifice  was  defrayed  chiefly  from  means  furnished  by 
the  pious  and  benevolent  pastor  himself,  as  at  that  time  the  con- 
gregation was  too  poor  to  afford  any  material  assistance  in  dona- 
tions of  cash.  It  is  also  stated  that  he  purchased  all  the  parish 
grounds  vvith  his  own  means,  and  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  he 
continued  to  labor  assiduously  toward  promoting  the  prosperity  of 
the  parish  in  all  respects  until  1863,  when,  broken  down  with  toil 
and  care,  he  retired  to  the  university  of  Notre  Dame,  St.  Joseph 
county,  Ind.,  w^here,  for  some  years  he  taught  physiology  and  sur- 
gery, having  in  early  life  been  a  surgeon  in  the  army  of  Napoleon 
I,  in  his  native  France.  His  death  took  place  at  Notre  Dame  Jan- 
uary 7,  1888,  in  his  ninety-eighth  year.  Holy  Trinity  congregation 
allowing  him,  meanwhile,  an  annuity  of  $500  in  consideration  of 
his  past  invaluable  services  to  the  parish  and  his  unbounded  gen- 
erosity. 

In  1864  Father  Neyron  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  L.  Gueguen, 
who,  the  same  year,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  Mougin.  The 
last-named  clergyman  did  excellent  work,  building  the  present 
parish-house  and  a  brick  school-house.  For  some  time  he  had  as 
assistants  Rev.  G.  M.  Ginnsz,  now  of  Prescott,  Ind.,  as  pastor  of 
St.  Vincent's  congregation,  and  Rev.  Father  Fleischmann.  Rev. 
Father  Mougin  was  succeeded,  after  doing  much    to  advance  the 

~(389j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

prosperity   of  his   parish,    by  Rev.  John  B.    Kelly,  an   account  of 
whose  life  and  labors  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  work. 

The  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  at  New  Albany,  was  first 
known  as  St.  Mary's  congregation,  and  was  founded  in  1852,  when 
Rev.  Ottis  |air  held  the  first  services  for  the  German-speaking 
Catholics  of  the  city.  The  organization,  properly  speaking,  of  the 
Annunciation  parish  was  not  effected,  however,  until  the  time  of 
Father  A.  Munschina,  about  the  latter  part  of  1853.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Father  Joseph  Weutz  in  1854.  He  built  the  first  school- 
house,  a  small  brick  structure,  in  the  fall  of  that  year. 

March  3,  1857,  Very  Rev.  Dean  Faller  was  first  appointed 
and  appeared  on  the  scene  that  very  day.  He  found  half  the 
present  grounds  purchased;  also  an  unpretentious  little  brick 
school-house,  which  was  permitted  to  stand  until  the  extension  of 
the  church  in  1886  required  its  removal.  There  was  a  $5,000 
debt  when  Father  Faller  assumed  the  pastorate.  April  19,  1858, 
Father  Faller  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  church,  at  which 
time  he  placed  the  church  and  congregation  under  the  patronage 
of  the  Annunciation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  He  finished  it 
that  year  and  had  it  blessed  the  12th  day  of  December.  The 
church  improvements  cost  $20,000,  every  cent  of  which  he  paid, 
together  with  $2,200  of  the  original  debt  of  $5,000,  which  he 
found  when  he  took  charge.  In  1858  he  also  purchased  ten  acres 
of  ground  for  cemetery  purposes  for  the  sum  of  $2,500.  The  land 
alone,  in  1890,  was  worth  $15,000. 

April  3.  1867,  Rev.  C.  Doebbener  assumed  the  pastorate. 
He  built,  in  1872-3,  St.  Mary's  academy,  a  five-story  brick  struc- 
ture, at  a  cost  of  $29,000.  It  has  since  been  sold  to  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Francis  for  $17,000,  on  condition  that  they  continue  it  as  a 
parish  school.  Father  Doebbener  remained  a  little  over  nine  years, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  F.  Ign.  Klein,  August,  1872.  He 
erected  St.  Joseph's  Hall  building,  the  lower  part  of  which  is  now 
the  boys'  school,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000,  acquired  the  lots  and  built 
teachers'  residences,  costing  $2,000,  and  was  engaged  in  enlarging 
and  beautifying  the  church  when  he  received  an  injury  by  a  fall  on 


(390) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

the  building  which  caused  his  death  the  following  day,  June  5. 
1886.  Bisho])  Chatard  attended  his  obsequies,  held  in  Holy 
Trinity  church,  and  his  remains  were  interred  in  Annunciation 
cemetery,  where  a  fitting  monument  is  erected  to  his  memory. 

Rev.  Father  Joseph  Dickmann,  of  St.  Joseph's,  Clark  county, 
was  temporarily  in  charge  until  the  reappointment  of  Rev  Father 
Faller,  July  14,  1886.  After  an  absence  of  nearly  twenty  years 
Father  Faller  returned.  He  continued  the  improvements  begun 
by  Father  Klein,  and  finished  them  the  same  year  in  time  to  have 
the  church  solemnly  consecrated  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Chatard, 
December  12,  1886.  The  improvements  cost  $35,000,  and,  in 
order  that  all  debts  on  the  church  might  be  paid  so  as  to  entitle  it 
to  consecration,  Father  Faller  paid  $13,000  out  of  his  own  private 
fortune.  A  remarkable  coincidence  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the 
consecration  of  the  church  took  place  on  the  12th  of  December, 
the  same  month  and  day  upon  which  it  was  first  blessed  for  Father 
Faller,  in  1858. 

In  1888  the  very  reverend  rector  removed  the  old  rectory  and 
caused  to  be  erected  in  its  stead  a  fine  brick  residence  trimmed  in 
cut  stone,  at  a  cost  of  $7,500.  On  its  completion  the  young  ladies 
of  the  congregation  furnished  it  most  suitably — in  fact,  too  elabor- 
ately for  plain  Father  Faller's  taste — at  a  cost  of  nearly  $1,000. 

The  Church  of  the  Annunciation  is  situated  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Eighth  and  Spring  streets,  and  is  among  the  finest  in  the 
diocese  of  Vincennes.  Interiorly  it  is  the  best  in  the  state.  It  is 
of  Roman  architecture,  constructed  of  red  brick,  and  is  surmounted 
by  a  tower  and  spire  reaching  a  height  of  165  feet.  It  is  164  feet 
long,  fifty-six  feet  wide,  and  thirty-five  feet  high,  with  nave  and 
transept  dimensions  140  and  103  feet  respectively.  The  seating 
capacity  is  1,000.  The  interior  finish  and  furnishing  can  not  be 
easily  excelled.  The  pews,  the  organ,  pulpit,  statuary,  basso- 
relievo  stations  of  the  cross,  and  rich  frescoing  are  all  in  happy 
keeping. 

Annunciation  parish  property  is  worth  over  $100,000.  There 
are  350  families  in  the  congregation,  and  365  children  attend  the 
parish  schools.      The  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  are  in  charge. 


(391) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


NEW    ALSACE,     DEARBORN    COUNTY. 


St.  Paul's  Parish,  New  Alsace,  is  possibly  the  oldest  parish 
in  the  state  outside  of  Vincennes  and  Fort  Wayne.  The  first 
church,  which  was  a  farme  structure,  was  erected  about  1822,  and 
was  attended  by  Father  O'Rourke,  of  Dover,  and  other  passing 
priests.  After  the  erection  of  this  frame  structure.  Father  Ferned- 
ing  erected  a  small  brick  in  1837,  which  now  serves  as  the  rear  of 
the  present  church.  It  seems  from  the  records  that  Father  Fer- 
neding's  predecessor  was  Father  Muller,  who  officiated  from  Sep- 
tember, 1 841,  to  September,  1842.  Father  Ferneding  remained 
as  the  first  resident  priest  until  August,  1842.  His  successor  was 
Father  O'Rourke  from  October,  1842,  to  December,  1842.  At 
this  time  Father  Schniederjans  passed  through  and  administered  to 
the  congregation  only  a  short  time.  He  was  followed  by  Father 
Masquelet  from  January  26,  1843,  to  June,  1843;  T^ext  was  Father 
Oper,  who  passed  through  the  parish,  when  Father  O'Rourke 
attended  the  parish  again  for  a  short  time;  then  Rev.  William 
Engels  from  January,  1845,  to  January  1846.  Then  came  Father 
Stahl,  who  erected  an  addition  to  the  church  and  in  this  parish  he 
died  in  April,  1853.  Then  Rev.  Father  Stapf  came  and  was 
rector  from  March,  1853,  to  May,  1854;  next  was  Father  Neuber 
from  May,  1854,  to  July  14,  1856;  after  him  came  Rev.  A.  Pinkers 
who  remamed  from  August,  1856,  to  January,  1858;  next  was  Rev 
Francis  J.  Rudolf  and  he  was  followed  by  Father  Weinzoepfel  from 
August  22,  1858,  to  April  14,  1866.  Whilst  here  as  rector  he 
erected  the  brick  school-house  and  the  priest's  house.  The  church 
now  was  in  the  interdict,  for  sometime  attended  from  Dover.  The 
next  pastor  in  charge  was  Father  Hundt,  from  September,  1867, 
to  September,  1868,  and  next  was  Father  Siebmann  from  October, 
1868,  to  February,  1884.  During  the  latler's  administration  the 
last  addition  and  the  spire  of  the  church  was  completed  and  the 
bells  furnished.  The  next  priest  in  charge  was  Rev.  Guthneck 
from  April,  1885,  to  July,  1886,  and  he  was  followed  by  Rev. 
Francis  Torbeck  from  July,  1886,  to  April,  1890.  Whilst  rector  of 
this  parish.  Father  Torbeck  put  in  a  new  communion  rail  and  a 
new  floor  in  the  church.      Then  the  present  efficient  rector,  Rev.  J. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

J.  Merkl,  took  charge  of  the  parish  and  he  has  caused  the  premises 
and  the  general  appearance  of  the  property  to  assume  the  aspect 
of  a  veritable  flower-garden.  The  premises  and  buildings  are  in 
the  best  of  repair  and  present  a  scene  of  thrift  and  care  and  general 
prosperity. 

NEW  HAVEN,  ALLEN  COUNTY. 

St.  John  the  Baptist  Church,  at  New  Haven,  was  organized 
in  the  latter  part  of  1857,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Botty  visited  the 
place  and  said  mass  in  the  house  of  N.  Schuckman.  Among  the 
original  settlers  were  George  Schlink,  Herman  Schnelker,  N. 
Jostvert,  N.  Schuckman  and  B.  Schnelker,  and  of  these  H.  Schnel- 
ker, G.  Schlink  and  N.  Jostvert,  constituted  the  first  "church 
council,"  and  these  gentlemen  gave  their  individual  notes  to  Henry 
Burgess  as  the  purchase  price  of  land  necessary  for  church  pur- 
poses. Rev.  Mr.  Grevin  now  came  once  a  month  to  perform  divine 
services,  and  he  also  aided  in  pushing  forward  to  completion  the 
new  church-edifice,  which  was  ultimately  consummated  at  a  cost 
of  $4,000. 

In  1 86 1  Rev.  G.  W.  Giedel  took  charge  of  St.  John's  as  resi- 
dent pastor,  and  about  1871  secured  the  services  of  Sisters  of  St. 
Agnes  from  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  for  teaching  the  pupils  of  the 
parochial  schools  attached  to  the  church,  and  of  these  there  are 
at  present  five  in  attendance,  having  in  charge  about  130  chil- 
dren. The  school-buildings  were  completed  in  1872,  at  a  cost  of 
$8,000,  and  are  a  credit  to  the  congregation,  which  now  numbers 
about  540  souls. 

In  1873,  Rev.  G.  W.  Giedel  was  called  to  his  heavenly  home, 
and  was  succeeded  in  the  pastorate  by  the  present  incumbent, 
Rev.  Bernard  Wiedau,  under  whose  effective  administration  a  new 
and  handsome  house  of  worship  has  been  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
$17,000. 

NORTH  MADISON,   JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 

St.  Patrick's  Church. — Prior  to  1853  the  Catholics  living  at 
North  Madison  were  members  of  St.  Michael's  church,  Madison, 
but  in  the  year  mentioned,  or  in  1854,  the  Rev.  H.    Dupontavice 

24  ~(393) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

erected  the  present  brick  church-edifice  in  North  Madison,  and 
with  its  erection  began  to  exist  and  flourish  St.  Patrick's  congrega- 
tion, who  were  attended  by  visiting  clergymen.  The  first  resident 
priest  h^re  was  the  Rev.  Bernard  Ewers,  who  officiated  from  1875 
until  1 88 1,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  George  Widerin,  who 
remained  until  1893,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Father  Fein. 
The  edifice,  known  as  St.  Patrick's  church,  is  small  but  substantial, 
and  in  reality  is  one  of  the   finest  places  of  worship  in  the  diocese. 

NORTH  VERNON,    JPINNINCS  roi'XTV. 

St.  Mary's  Church,  at  North  Vernon,  is  among  the  oldest 
religious  edifices  in  the  city,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
imposing  in  appearance,  its  tall  spire  standing  out  as  a  landmark  for 
a  radius  of  several  miles.  The  original  structure  was  built  in  1861 ; 
the  first  pastor  in  charge  was  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Missi,  deceased, 
whose  pastorate  terminated  only  with  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
the  year  1890.  He  was  then  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Ginnsz, 
now  at  Schnellville,  Ind. ,  w4io  filled  its  pulpit  for  three  years.  He 
took  charge  July  15,  1890,  and  remained  until  July  27,  1893, 
when  he  was  removed,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  F.  X. 
Hundt,  February  22,  1893,  who  officiated  until  November  of  the 
same  year.  The  church  was  then  attended  from  St.  Ann's,  by  the 
Rev.  A.  J.  Urich,  until  April  3,  1894.  The  Rev.  George  L.  T. 
Widerin  was   then   appointed    and    has    remained   to   the   present 

time. 

When  the  Rev.  Widerin  took  charge  of  the  parish,  St.  Mary's 
church  had  not  been  completed,  as  far  as  the  tower  is  concerned, 
but  in  March,  1897,  the  work  on  this  imposing  appurtenance  was 
begun  under  the  direction  of  this  pastor,  and  was  completed  in 
October,  of  the  same  year,  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  St.  Mary's  church 
now  has  a  congregation  of  135  families;  the  parochial  school  is  in 
charge  of  the  Franciscan  Sisters  of  Oldenburg,  Franklin  county, 
Ind.,  and  numbers  about  ninety  pupils,  who  receive  instructions 
in  English,  German,  music  and  needle  work.  In  Septem.ber,  1897, 
together  with  the  addition  of  the  steeple,  a  large,  handsome  clock 
was  inserted  therein.  The  church  is  very  handsomely  decorated 
and  is  equipped  with  electric  lights. 


IX    THI-:    STATi:    ni-     INDIANA. 


OI^.IU-  ISVII  I  i:,    CIP.SOX    COUNTY. 


St.  Bernard's  Church  is  located  six  miles  east  of  Fort  Branch, 
in  the  village  of  Obertsville  (Snake  Run),  the  post-offtce  being  Fort 
Branch.  As  early  as  1875,  a  few  Catholic  families  living  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Snake  Run  opened  a  Catholic  school  in  an  old  log 
cabin  on  land  belonging  to  Anton  Obert,  and  this  school  was 
taught  by  Joseph  Obert,  his  son.  In  this  log  cabin,  also,  mass 
was  said  a  few  tinges  by  Rev.  A.  Koesters,  of  Princeton,  in  1876, 
and  in  1877  Anton  Obert  having  donated  hve  acres  of  land,  a 
church  was  built  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Father  Widerin,  of 
Haubstadt,  who  attended  the  little  congregation  until  1878,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Father  Kintrup,  of  Princeton,  who  held 
the  charge  one  year.  From  1879  until  1881  Rev.  Father  Widerin 
again  had  charge,  and,  after  him.  Rev.  C.  Schwarz,  of  Pr.nceton, 
from  1 88 1  to  1882;  Rev.  B.  Ewers,  of  Haubstadt,  from  1882  to 
1883,  and  Rev.  A.  Peckscamp  of  Princeton,  from  1883  to  1884. 

In  1885,  Rev.  Peter  Hommes  took  charge  of  Princeton  and 
visited  St.  Bernard's  church  regularly  until  New  Year's  day,  of 
1886,  when  he  permanently  located  here,  built  the  parsonage,  and 
for  some  years  personally  attended  to  the  school.  He  also 
attended  Princeton  as  a  mission  until  June,  1895,  when  Rev.  E. 
Ledvina  succeeded  him  to  the  mission,  being  appointed  for  Prince- 
ton; at  the  same  time,  the  administration  was  again  reversed,  and 
St.  Bernard's  once  more  became  a  mission  of  Princeton,  under  Rev. 
L-^dvina.  In  July,  1897,  St.  Bernard's  became  a  mission  of  Posey- 
ville,  and  is  now  regularly  attended  twice  a  month  by  Rev.  Andrew 
Schaat,  pastor  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  church,  of  that  city. 

When  the  first  church  was  erected  at  Obertsville,  the  Catholic 
families  living  here  were  those  of  Henry  Wening,  Anton  Obert, 
John  and  Frank  Hassel,  Anton  and  Alois  Meyer.  J.  W.  Schmits, 
Bernard  Deters.  Mike  Foley  and  Mr.  Nelles.  The  church  was  a 
frame  structure,  30  x  42  feet,  without  a  sacristy.  At  the  same 
time  a  small  log  school-building  was  erected,  and  is  still  used  for 
school  purposes.  In  February,  1882,  the  church  building  was 
demolished  by  a  wind-storm,  and  in  the  same  year  the  present 
church  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $2,500.      This  is  a  neat  and  sub- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

stantial  frame  building,  40x92  feet,  with  a  spire  towering  to  the 
height  of  ninety-five  feet.  The  parsonage,  erected  in  1886,  is  a 
frame  structure  of  six  rooms,  and  is  well  furnished.  The  congre- 
gation now  numbers  forty-eight  families,  or  about  250  souls.  The 
school  has  been  taught  by  lay  teachers,  the  present  teacher  being 
George  Hassel. 

Rev.  P.  Hommes,  who  has  been  the  resident  pastor  for  the 
past  ten  years,  merits  great  esteem  for  his  faithful  work,  which  he 
has  performed  with  unabated  zeal,  and  frequently  at  great  personal 
sacrifices. 

OXFORD,    BENTON  COUNTY. 

St.  Patrick's  is  the  oldest  Catholic  church  in  the  county  of 
Benton  and  was  established  about  i860,  Rev.  Father  Stephan  cele- 
brating the  first  mass  in  the  Christian  church  and  the  second  in  the 
old  court-house,  the  next  at  the  school-house,  and  afterward  in 
various  private  houses.  Father  Ivilroy,  of  LaFayette,  laid  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  the  present  edifice  in  1863,  and  Revs.  Stephan  and 
C.  J.  O'Callaghan  superintended  the  main  part  of  the  work  in  its 
early  stages,  but  it  was  completed  by  Rev.  Father  Dinnen.  At 
that  time  there  was  no  railroad  at  Oxford,  and  the  material  for  the 
building  was  all  transported  by  teams  from  LaFayette,  Tippecanoe 
county — a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles  and  the  church  was  sup- 
plied with  its  clergymen  from  LaFayette  until  after  the  close  of  the 
Civil  war.  In  i860,  Father  Stephan,  the  first  priest,  officiated, 
and,  afterward,  St.  Patrick's  continued  to  be  supplied  from  LaFay- 
ette, with  clergymen,  until  1867.  From  1867  to  the  present  time 
the  resident  priests  have  followed  in  the  following  order:  Father 
O'Callaghan,, from  September,  1867,  to  1870;  Father  Dinnen,  1870 
to  187S;  Father  McCarty,  1875  to  1877;  Father  Lang,  1877  to 
1882;  Father  P.  J.  Crosson,  from  1882  to  1894;  Father  Julius 
Becks,  from  September,  1894,  to  June,  1895,  when  the  present 
pastor,  Rev.  William  C.  Miller,  assumed  charge.  For  several 
years,  the  members  of  St.  Patrick's  congregation  were  scattered 
all  through  Benton  county  and  the  northern  part  of  Warren,  but, 
at  the  present  time,  St.  Bridget's,  consisting  of  fifty  families,  alone 
is  supplied  from  Oxford.      St.  Patrick's  congregation  proper  com- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

prises  about  300  communicants.  The  edifice  is  of  brick,  cost  $8,000, 
and  the  altar,  with  appurtenances,  cost  $700  additional.  Father 
Miller  has  been  very  zealous  and  energetic  since  he  has  been  pas- 
tor, and  the  priest's  residence,  through  his  e.xertions,  has  been 
rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  and  refurnished.  The  church  of  St. 
Bridget's  mission  was  built  by  Father  McCarty  in  1873;  but  within 
a  short  time  after  Father  Miller  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  parish. 
The  new  church  was  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  $8,000,  and  was  consecrated 
to  the  service  of  God  November  15,   1896, 

PERU,     MIAMI    COUNTY. 

St.  Charles  Barromeo,  the  first  church  in  Peru,  was  erected  in 
1835.  It  was  a  frame  building,  20x40  feet  in  area,  and  was  con- 
structed b}'  James  B.  Campbell,  a  carpenter  living  here  at  the 
time.  A  bell  was  hung  in  position  and  inspired  the  Christian  peo- 
ple with  great  fervor.  The  earliest  church-goers  had  many  peculiar 
and  e.xtraordinary  trials  in  the  practice  of  their  religion.  For 
quite  a  while  there  was  no  bridge,  as  there  now  is,  over  the  Wa- 
bash river,  and  those  coming  from  the  country  south  of  town  on 
Sundays  had  either  to  drive  or  wade  across  the  stream.  Among 
the  first  Catholics  of  the  county  are:  Melchi  Kuhn,  Patrick  Col- 
gan,  John  Guendling,  the  father  of  three  priests  —  Revs.  John, 
August,  Charles  —  John  A.  Graham,  Jacob  Kreutzer,  John  H. 
Helm,  Adam  Beck,  Joseph  Buffert,  Joseph  Faust,  Frederick  Radel, 
Daniel  Mehl,  Casper  Wahlig,  Jacob  Struble,  James  Aveline,  John 
Miller,  John  Eberhardt,  Thomas  O'Rourke,  Henry  Salkman,  Adam 
Eberle,  George  Clickard,  Matthias  Twomy,  Herman  Sparenberg, 
Anthony  Frewer  and  Lawrence  Weidner. 

Mrs.  Melchi  Kuhn  had  charge  of  the  altars  of  the  church  until 
relieved  by  the  first  Sisters,  who  arrived  in  1869  from  Louisville, 
Ky. —  were  Ursuline  Sisters,  and  were  succeeded  by  Sisters  of 
Providence  in  1874.  She  was  extremely  painstaking  in  her  serv- 
ice and  some  of  the  laces  and  ornamental  work  which  she  made 
for  the  altars  are  still  used.  The  Sisters  of  Providence  now  have 
charge  of  the  altar  furnishings. 

After  the  first  church  had  been  used  for  twenty-five  years  a 
successful  effort  was  made  to  secure  a  new  and  commodious  place 

~T397J 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  worship  and  the  edifice  erected  stands,  as  it  will  for  centuries,  a 
monument  to  the  energy  and  zeal  of  its  founders.  The  corner  ad- 
joining the  first  church  was  purchased  from  Jesse  \\'illiams,  of  Fort 
Wayne.  The  land  was  six  or  more  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
streets.  A  swampy  stream  once  ran  through  that  part  of  the  town 
and  the  unstable  land  still  remained.  It  was  filled  up  and  the 
water  afterwards  drained,  making  the  ground  what  it  now  is.  The 
members  of  the  congregation  worked  very  hard  upon  the  building 
and  overcame  numberless  difficulties,  and  many  of  the  men  donated 
most  of  their  time  and  accepted  only  enough  remuneration  to  feed 
their  teams. 

Mr.  Lowe,  of  Fort  Wayne,  was  the  architect  and  his  plans 
were  approved  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  Bernard  Kroeger,  and  Bishop 
Luers.  The  walls  were  built  extra  thick  and  strong,  and  the  great 
quantity  of  bricks  used  were  made  by  John  Clifton,  south  of  the 
city.  The  stone  for  the  coping  of  the  pilasters,  etc.,  was  hauled 
from  the  vicinity  of  Peoria,  on  the  Mississinewa.  Huge  logs  were 
hewed  with  a  great  amount  of  labor  into  the  proper  shapes  to  form 
the  imposing  looking  pillars,  and  the  dedication  ceremonies  wer^e 
conducted  by  Bishop  Luers  December  8,  1867.  In  building  this 
church  the  purely  Gothic  architecture  was  faithfully  carried  out 
and  all  the  details  of  the  style  were  observed  as  far  as  circum- 
stances would  then  permit.  A  spire  and  also  appropriate  fresco- 
ing were  among  the  things  omitted  when  the  building  was  con- 
structed. Rev.  Meissner  was  greatly  impressed  with  a  desire  to 
see  the  church  completed  as  originally  intended  and  as  soon  as  his 
effort  of  freeing  the  congregation  from  debt  was  accomplished  he 
directed  the  finances  towards  this  end. 

The  beautiful  spire  was  the  first  of  the  improvements.  It  was 
planned  by  Peter  Deidrick,  Jr.,  of  Detroit,  and  was  completed  in 
1888  at  an  expense  of  $9,500,  which  includes  the  remodeling  of  the 
church.  It  is  a  magnificent  index  to  remind  one  of  the  eternity 
above  and  its  beautiful  gold  cross  shines  at  a  height  of  183  feet 
from  the  street.  Frescoing  was  another  point,  and  with  it  was 
also  considered  the  replacement  of  the  common  glass  windows 
with  fine  stained  ones.      With  little  effort  and  without  contracting 


('398) 


IN'    THE    STATE    OU    INDIANA. 

any  debt  these   two  grand  improvements  were  accomplished  at  a 
combined  cost  of  $7,000. 

The  windows  were  made  upon  a  special  contract  by  a  firm  in 
Munich,  Bavaria,  and  are  each  works  of  art,  setting  off  the  sub- 
limity of  the  interior  architecture  in  the  highest  degree.  The  fres- 
coing was  done  just  previous  to  the  placing  in  of  the  windows  and 
was  executed  rather  plainly  and  without  figures  in  order  to  more 
readily  attract  attention  to  the  beauties  of  the  windows.  The 
magnificent  gilded  dome  of  the  sanctuary  and  the  repressntation 
of  the  veil  of  time  behind  the  high  altar  are  each  exceedingly 
impressive  and  suggestive  of  certain  intended  meanings. 

The  representations  in  the  windows  and  the  names  of  those 
who  have  so  far  donated  them  are,  commencing  on  the  east  side 
of  the  church  at  the  altar:  St.  Michael,  donated  b}'  Michael, 
Henry  and  William  Eagle;  Moses,  not  donated;  St.  Augustine  and 
St.  Monica,  donated  by  the  Rosary  society;  St.  Claire  and  St. 
Thomas  Aquinas,  donated  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Kreutzer;  St.  Henr}^ 
donated  by  John  and  Barbara  Miller,  deceased;  St.  Cunigond, 
donated  by  Mrs.  Mary  Ryan;  St.  Isidore,  donated  by  Rev.  Meiss- 
ner  and  St.  Zita,  not  donated.  On  the  west  side,  commencing 
again  at  the  altar;  St.  Ann  (not  donated);  St.  Joachim,  donated 
by  Michael  Murphy;  St.  Paul  and  St.  Stephen,  not  donated;  St. 
Kolumbkill  and  St.  Boniface,  the  Catholic  Ivnights,  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Hibernians  and  St.  Patrick's  society;  St.  Rose  of  Lima 
and  St.  Cecilia,  the  Young  Ladies  societies;  St.  Louis,  the  Wabash 
Hospital  Sisters,  and  St.  Elizabeth,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Snyder  and 
Adeline  Schmo'l.  St.  Aloysius  society  donated  the  plain  window 
on  the  west  side  and  the  employees  of  the  Miami  Flint  Glassworks 
the  one  on  the  east.  The  five  windows  in  the  front  of  the  church 
have  not  been  donated. 

It  will  be  noticed  the  selections  of  saints  represented  both  in 
the  windows  and  statues  embrace  patrons  of  every  state  of  life, 
every  nation  and  all  ages,  so  that  it  is  easy  to  select  a  patron  from 
amongst  the  many.  Besides  these  representations  there  are  by 
figures  and  likenesses  those  of  the  seven  sacraments,  the  nine  choir 
of  angels,  the  three  divine  and  the  four  cardinal  virtues  in  the  win- 
dows.     Upon  Rev.  Meissner's  return  from  Europe  the  altars  were 

~p9) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

erected  as  they  now  are.  The  tabernacle  of  the  high  altar  is  the 
same  as  originally  built,  but  the  remaining  portion  was  added  in 
1884.  The  beautiful  white  and  gold  side  altars  cost  $525  each  and 
were  constructed  by  Allard  &  Co.,  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  Mrs.  Mary 
Ryan  donated  St.  Joseph's  altar  and  the  Rosary  society  that  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  The  statues  were  mostly  secured  at  that  time 
also.  They  are  representations  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus, 
which  was  donated  by  the  young  ladies'  societies;  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Mary;  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  purchased  with  collections 
made  by  Theodore  Helmig;  St.  Patrick,  given  by  the  Irish  portion 
of  the  congregation;  St.  Bridget;  St.  Francis  of  Assissi,  given  by 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis;  St.  Anthony,  by  Mrs.  Jacob  Bets- 
ner;  St.  Aloysius,  by  the  young  men's  societies.  All  of  the  statues 
were  made  in  Paris.  Those  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  St.  Joseph  and 
the  figure  of  our  Savior  on  the  cross  are  of  Munich  manufacture. 
The  combined  value  of  these  works  of  art  amounts  to  about  $700. 
The  stations  of  the  cross  were  donated  in  1878  by  Mrs.  Jacob 
Betsner,  who  also  furnished  two  holy  water  fonts  some  years  later. 
Mrs.  Mary  Ryan  furnished  the  two  marble  vases  for  holy  water, 
and  also  the  elegant  cope,  used  as  a  vestment  at  benediction. 

The  Rosary  society  was  the  first  one  organized  in  the  church 
and  was  started  about  1858.  At  first  both  men  and  women  were 
members  together,  but  it  is  now  exclusively  a  body  of  women.  St. 
Patrick's  Total  Abstinence  society  was  founded  also  in  the  early 
days  of  the  church.  St.  Charles  society  once  was  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  organizations  in  the  church  but  it  was  disbanded  by 
common  agreement.  The  money  in  its  treasury  was  used  in  the 
purchase  of  a  first  class  bell  for  the  school-house.  The  societies 
now  existing  in  the  church  and  the  number  of  members  each  con- 
tains are:  Catholic  Knights  of  America,  seventy-six;  St.  Charles 
Commandery,  twenty-two;  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  forty- 
four;  the  Rosary  society,  ninety-one;  St.  Aloysius  sodality,  twenty- 
eight;  Holy  Infancy  sodality,  eighty-four;  Confraternity  of  the 
Poor  Souls,  244;  Confraternity  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary, 
536;  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  forty-four;  Holy  Family,  seventy; 
Total  Abstinence  society,  nineteen;  Zouaves  (Volperts),  twenty- 
four;    Perpetual   Adoration,    seventy-two;    Propagation    of    Faith, 

(400)~ 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

sixty-five;  Children  of  Mary,  forty-eij^ht,  and  Sacred  Heart  society, 
forty-nine.  During  the  great  famine  in  Ireland  in  1880  St.  Pat- 
rick's society  secured  by  its  efforts  the  sum  of  $463.(71,  which  was 
forwarded  to  the  sufferers. 

Rev.  M.  J.  Clark  taught  the  first  school  of  the  community  in 
1837  and  continued  until  1842.  Gabriel  Volkert,  a  Badinese 
student,  who  came  here  with  Rev.  Force  in  i860,  was  the  first  lay 
teacher  and  conducted  a  school  in  the  residence  situated  on  the 
corner  of  Fifth  and  Wabash  streets.  Franz  Edler  was  afterward  a 
very  popular  teacher  and  was  assisted  by  Mary  Force,  sister  of  the 
pastor.  He  resigned  his  position  here  to  take  the  position  of 
organist  in  the  Fort  Wayne  cathedral. 

The  first  church  was  converted  into  a  school  during  the  week 
by  means  of  portable  partitions  and  did  service  until  destroyed  by 
fire.  Victor  Stevens  succeeded  Franz  Edler.  He  was  also  assisted 
by  Miss  Force  until  she  went  to  Logansport  with  her  brother,  who 
received  charge  of  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  congregation.  Rev. 
Kroeger  taught  for  a  few  months  in  1864  when  he  came  here,  but 
afterward  Thomas  Miller,  who  is  now  dead,  was  employed. 
Theodore  F.  Wolfram  taught  a  year  and  resigned  in  1867.  He  is 
now  in  Columbus,  Ohio.  Miss  Nellie  Kenney,  now  Mrs.  Milligan, 
of  Huntington,  was  the  next  instructor.  John  Schenk,  of  North 
Vernon,  was  her  successor. 

Prof.  Rudolph  L.  Mueller  was  the  next  incumbent  and  one 
whose  rather  romantic  personal  history  has  often  been  told.  He 
was  the  son  of  a  baron  of  Pomerania,  Prussia,  and  in  his  youth  was 
a  companion  of  Prince  Bismarck.  He  entered  the  arm}^  but  at 
eighteen  he  was  made  professor  of  mathematics  in  a  military  school. 
He  joined  the  Catholic  church  when  of  age  and  for  so  doing  was 
disinherited.  He  then  joined  the  English  army  and  in  some  way 
got  to  this  country.  He  became  rich,  but  lost  all  his  money  and 
valuable  books  in  mining  speculations.  He  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  professor  of  history  and  languages  in  St.  Vincent's  college, 
Westmoreland  county.  Pa.  Rev.  Kroeger  was  once  his  pupil  in 
this  college  and  several  years  after  his  ordination  they  met  again 
and  Mueller  was  appointed  teacher  here,  which  place  he  filled  four 
years.      Bishop  Dwenger,    noting  his  capabilities,    prevailed   upon 

~m) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

him  to  enter  the  college  in  Carthagena,  Ohio,  kept  by  the  Sanguin- 
ist  Fathers,  to  whose  ranks  the  bishop  belonged.  He  became  a 
Brother  and  died  in  1885  in  a  monastery  at  Marie  Stein,  Ohio. 

Rev.  Kroeger  secured  four  Ursuline  Sisters  from  Louisville  in 
1869,  who  were  the  first  Sisters  of  the  congregation.  Three  of 
them  spent  their  time  in  instructing  the  girls.  They  occupied  one 
of  the  houses  across  the  street  from  the  church.  These  Sisters 
remained  two  years.  In  1874  five  Sisters  of  Providence  arrived 
and  taught  the  girls'  classes,  the  boys  being  instructed  separately 
by  Frank  Horn.  He  resigned  September,  1881,  and  his  class  of 
boys  was  taken  by  the  Sisters  also.  The  number  of  Sisters  has 
gradually  increased  until  now  there  are  ten,  including  the  Sister 
superior.  There  are  now  six  school-rooms,  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  252  pupils,  under  the  superintendency  of  Rev.  Meissner. 
To  him  is  due  great  credit  for  the  successful  manner  in  which  the 
school  has  been  conducted.  From  the  very  first  he  made  his  peo- 
ple understand  the  great  necessity  of  a  christian  education,  which 
is  only  obtainable  by  attendance  at  a  good  religious  school. 

In  the  early  'seventies  Rev.  Lamour  contracted  for  and  com- 
menced the  erection  of  the  new  brick  school  building  at  a  cost  of 
$16,000.  It  was  blessed  by  Rev.  Meissner  October  i,  1875,  with 
a  previous  procession  which  marched  through  the  streets.  In  1880 
a  stage  was  erected  and  was  fitted  with  a  set  of  four  scenes,  the 
first  which  were  ever  in  the  city.  In  1S96  a  most  beautiful  pulpit 
was  erected  in  the  church.  The  cost  was  $500.  The  pulpit  was 
made  by  Mr.  Harkner,  of  La  Crosse,  \\'is.  Improvements  were 
made  in  the  cemetery  in  1897  and  1898  to  the  amount  of  $1,000. 
A  large  stone  cross  was  erected  in  the  cemetery  on  June  i,  1898, 
at  a  cost  of  $350. 

PLYMOUTH,    MARSHALL  COl'NTY. 

St.  Michael's  Congregation. — Previous  to  1841,  Plymouth 
was  a  missionary  station,  visited  by  priests  from  South  Bend  and 
Valparaiso.  The  13th  day  of  June,  1861,  Rebecca  Vinnedge,  the 
widow  of  David  \'innedge,  deeded  to  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Luers  lots 
No.  59  and  60  of  the  original  plat  of  Plymouth.  The  i8th  day  of 
February,    1863,   Rebecca    \'innedge.   by    Nathan     H.    Oglesbee, 


IX    TIIIL    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

administrator,  deeded  to  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Luers,  lot  No.  58.  Lot 
No.  58  is  situated  on  the  south  end  of  the  block,  while  No.  59  is 
the  center  lot,  and  No.  60  is  the  one  on  which  the  church  now 
stands. 

Rev.  Father  \'olkert,  the  first  resident  priest  of  Plymouth, 
came  in  the  year  1S62,  and  was  removed  in  1864.  During  his 
administration  the  lots  referred  to  were  purchased  for  St.  Michael's 
congregation,  and  the  church  was  erected  and  completed  in  1863. 
In  September,  1863,  the  church  was  dedicated  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Luers.  Priests  were  present  from  many  places.  A  very  large 
concourse  of  the  lait)'  was  also  present,  many  having  come  from 
LaPorte  and  other  places,  reduced  rates  having  been  secured  on 
the  old  Huckleberry  Road,  and  also  on  the  P.,  Ft.  \V.  &  Chicago 
railroad. 

His  successor  was  Rev.  Father  Steiner,  whose  administration 
began  in  1864,  about  six  months  before  the  close  of  the  great  Civil 
war.  Anxiety  and  deep  gloom  prevailed  everywhere;  and  politics 
and  war  seemed  to  rule  the  hour.  Rev.  Father  Steiner  had  very 
poor  health  while  in  Plymouth  and  he  resigned  his  charge  in  1866. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Father  Siegelack.  It  was  during 
his  administration  that  the  St.  Boniface  Benevolent  societ}-  was 
organized  in  1869,  since  which  time  it  has  flourished,  being  a 
sweet  guardian  angel  to  many  in  the  dark  hours  of  sickness  and 
sorrow.  In  1868  the  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  procured 
and  an  altar  erected  in  her  honor.  Father  Siegelark  left  Plymouth 
in  1869. 

The  Catholic  school,  from  1861  to  1869,  inclusive,  was  taught 
by  the  following  named  persons:  Miss  Dwyer.  Miss  Howard,  Miss 
Buchanen,  Miss  Manahon,  Miss  Day,  Mr.  Weber  and  Mr.  Stevens. 
Miss  Kate  Stokes,  of  \'alparaiso,  was  the  last  teacher  previous  to 
the  Sisters.  She  taught  during  the  first  few  months  of  the  admin- 
istration of  Rev.  Father  Zurwellen,  who  came  in  October,  1869. 
The  pastoral  residence  was  situated  in  those  days  upon  lot  No. 
58,  that  is,  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  block. 

St.  Michael's  academy  is  the  name  given  to  the  institution  of 
learning  established  in  1870.  The  building  is  of  brick,  substantially 
built,  well  arranged  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  used,  and  cost 

"(403) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

about  $12,000.  At  the  request  of  Father  Zurwellen,  a  large  bell 
was  procured.  The  day  on  which  it  was  blessed,  it  was  placed 
near  the  sanctuary,  and  each  contributer  to  the  bell  fund  had  the 
privilege  of  tolling  the  bell  once  for  each  dollar  donated  by  him. 
The  next  important  acquisition  made  by  the  congregation  was  lots 
No.  67,  68  and  96.  They  were  purchased  November  20,  1872, 
from  Nathan  B.  Ridgway,  of  LaPorte,  Ind..  lot  No.  67  being  the 
one  on  which  St.  Joseph's  hall  is  situated.  For  a  number  of  years 
the  congregation  used  as  a  cemetery  an  acre  of  ground,  donated  to 
the  Catholics  of  Plymouth,  by  Uncle  Johnny  Hughes,  as  he  was 
called,  but  his  farm  was  too  far  north  for  a  burial  ground,  yet  the 
poor  Catholics  of  Plymouth  were  glad  to  accept  it  from  the  hands 
of  the  cheerful  giver.  In  1871  the  city  gave  the  privilege  of  using 
a  portion  of  Oak  Hill  cemetery,  for  burial  purposes.  So  matters 
stood  until  the  15th  day  of  April,  1875,  when  Rev.  Father  Zur- 
wellen purchased  from  Place  and  VanPelt,  of  LaPorte,  Ind.,  the 
four  acres  of  ground  which  are  now  used  as  a  cemetery  by  the  mem- 
bers of  this  congregation. 

On  the  6th  day  of  February,  1883,  Rev.  Father  Moench,  the 
beloved  pastor,  arrived  in  Plymouth  and  found  a  debt  of  $6,000 
standing  against  the  congregation,  which  he  at  once  proceeded  to 
extirpate. 

In  the  year  1884  the  pastoral  residence  was  erected  at  a  cost 
of  $1,131.37,  also  the  statue  of  St.  Joseph  was  secured  and  an 
altar  erected  in  his  honor.  It  was  in  1885  that  the  church  was 
frescoed  and  repaired  at  an  expenditure  of  $660.77.  In  1886  the 
banners  of  the  Rosary  society  and  the  Young  Ladies'  sodality  were 
bought.  It  was  in  1887  that  the  beautiful  main  altar  was  donated. 
In  1888  St.  Joseph's  hall  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $1,298,  and  the 
beautiful  stained  windows  were  placed  in  the  church.  In  1889  the 
new  iron  fence  was  built,  and  the  stone  sidewalk  laid,  and  during 
the  same  year  the  last  dollar  of  that  cruel  debt  was  paid. 

The  congregation,  now  freed  from  financial  embarrassment, 
through  the  untiring  energy  of  Father  Moench  and  the  substantial 
help  of  the  good  people,  continues  to  prosper  and  now  numbers 
105  families,  while  the  school  enumeration  is  116.  In  1890  a 
council  of  the  Catholic  Benevolent  legion  was  organized;  this,  as 

(404)"" 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

well  as  all  the  other  societies  of  St.  Michael's  congregation,  are  in 
a  flourishing  condition. 

POKTLAXn,    JAY    COUNTY. 

The  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  at  Portland  was 
organized  in  1878  by  Fathers  of  the  Precious  Blood,  who  held  it 
in  charge  until  1888,  when  Rev.  J.  Baker,  now  pastor  of  St.  Mary's 
church,  at  Alexandria,  Madison  county,  was  placed  in  charge  and 
performed  the  functions  of  his  holy  office  for  about  three  years. 
Father  Baker  was  succeeded  by  Father  Strueder,  who  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  the  service  of  God  in  this  church,  and 
answered  the  summons  from  earthly  toil  October  25,   1894. 

Rev.  C.  Maujay,  since  the  lamented  decease  of  Father  Strue- 
der, has  held  the  pastorate  of  this  church,  and  has  done  excellent 
and  zealous  work  toward  advancing  the  spiritual  culture  of  his 
parishioners  and  in  improving  their  temporal  condition.  His  con- 
gregation is  composed  of  about  twenty  families,  of  mixed  nation- 
alities. That  his  labors  are  onerous  will  be  inferred  when  it  is 
stated  that,  beside  his  charge  in  Portland,  Father  Maujay  has  the 
cure  of  three  missions,  as  follows:  That  of  St.  Joseph,  in  Adams 
county,  which  Father  Maujay  himself  organized  in  1895,  and 
where  he  built  a  handsome  frame  church,  60  x  25  feet.  There  he 
has  a  congregation  of  twelve  families,  mostly  English-speaking, 
who  are  free  from  debt.  St.  Anthony's  mission,  at  Albany,  Dela- 
ware county,  his  second  mission,  was  established  by  Father  Mau- 
jay in  1895,  also,  and  has  a  congregation  of  twenty  families,  mostly 
German.  His  third  mission  is  that  of  St.  Patrick's,  at  Red  Key, 
in  Jay  county,  also  established  by  himself  in  1897,  and  there  he 
ministers  to  an  English-speaking  congregation  of  fifteen  families; 
this  mission  is  also  free  from  debt.  This  record  of  work  done  by 
Father  Maujay  since  coming  to  Portland  well  indicates  his  zeal  and 
energy,  which  have  won  for  him  the  unqualified  love  of  his  people 
and  the  commendation  of  his  superiors. 

POSEYVILLE,    POSEY    COUNTY. 

St.  Francis  Xavier  Church  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Chatard 
in  1887,  at  a  time  when  the  congregation   was   indeed  but  a  small 

(405) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

one,  with  Rev.  F.  Luebbermann,  of  Mount  Vernon,  as  its  spirit- 
ual head.  Father  Luebbermann  had  been  deputed  by  the  bishop 
to  form  this  congregation,  and  b}' earnest  and  persistent  work  made 
his  mission  a  success.  The  Catholic  laity  was  meager  in  cash  as 
well  as  in  numbers,  but  eventually  subscribed  sufficient  to  the  build- 
ing fund  to  justify  the  erection  of  a  church-edifice,  and  this  fund 
was  munificently  augmented  by  three  Protestant  residents  of  the 
parish,  viz:  Senator  W.  P.  Bozeman,  who  subscribed  $500;  Dr. 
T.  B.  Young,  $300,  and  Attorney  Leroy  Williams,  also  $300. 
The  total  cost  of  the  erection  was  $4,002.65,  to  meet  which  amount 
$2,978.45  had  been  subscribed,  thus  leaving  an  indebtedness  of 
over  $[,000.  The  church-building  is  a  neat  structure,  34x76  feet, 
is  of  brick,  and  with  stained  glass  windows  is  a  credit  to  the  parish, 
and  was  dedicated  September  18,  1887.  Father  Luebbermann 
continued  to  officiate  until  1S95,  when  he  was  relieved  of  his 
labor  at  Poseyville  and  left  free  to  devote  his  attention  to  his 
charge  at  Mount  Vernon. 

August  18,  1895,  Rev.  Andrew  Schaaf  took  charge  of  the 
parish  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  with  a  debt  of  over  $1,000,  but  with- 
out a  parsonage,  without  a  school-house,  without  a  cemetery,  and 
the  church-edifice  had  not  only  gone  unimproved,  but  was  badly 
needing  repairs.  Father  Schaaf,  for  the  first  two  years  of  his 
pastorate,  made  his  home  with  Rev.  Jos.  Dickmann,  of  St.  Mary's 
church,  Evansville,  but  in  the  meantime  had  vigorously  busied 
himself  in  remedying  the  unfortunate  condition  of  affairs  in  his 
parish.  His  first  work  was  to  repair  the  roof  the  church,  erect  a 
new  spire  eighty-two  feet  high,  and  introduce  a  new  bell;  he  built  a 
gallery,  secured  a  handsome  pipe  organ,  adding  a  number  of  pews, 
side  altars,  three  statues  and  a  furnace  for  heating  the  church. 
The  priest's  house  was  the  next  improvement  made,  ground  for 
which  was  broken  in  September,  1896,  and  the  modern  frame  home 
of  nine  rooms,  32x42  feet  and  two  stories  high,  completed  in  Sep- 
tember, 1897,  'J-t  a  cost  of  $2,000  for  the  home  and  its  furnishings. 
A  second  acre  of  ground  has  also  been  added  to  the  church  grounds, 
at  a  cost  of  $500.  In  June,  1897,  ground  was  broken  for  a  school- 
house,  and  this,  also,  was-  completed  in  September,  1897.  This 
building,  22x42  feet,  is  of  brick,  and  the  number  of  pupils  attend- 

(406T~ 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

ing  the  school  is  thirty-five,  under  the  charge  of  a  young  lady, 
Miss  Martha  Ketzner,  of  Crawford  county,  Ind..  but  nevertheless 
all  under  the  supervision  of  Rev.  Father  vSchaaf.  The  number  of 
families  belonging  to  the  congregation  is  forty-eight,  or  an  aggre- 
gate of  about  240  souls. 

MARION,    (iKANT    roTXTV. 

St.  Paul's  Church  at  Marion,  Grant  county,  was  built  in  186S 
by  Rev.  Bernard  Krceger,  of  Logansport.  The  Rev.  Theodore 
Borg,  now  at  Fort  \\'ayne,  was  the  first  priest  in  charge,  but  was 
not  regularly  stationed  here,  the  charge  being  a  dependent  mission. 
The  I^ev.  Father  Wiechmann  succeeded  Father  Borg  in  1870, 
driving  to  Marion,  at  first,  once  a  month;  later,  twice  a  month. 
Father  Wiechmann  was  in  charge  seven  years,  paid  off  the  church 
debt  and  turned  over  to  his  successor  $750  in  subscriptions,  which 
he  had  raised  from  Marion  citizens  not  members  of  the  church. 

Ground  was  broken  for  the  new  $50,000  edifice  September 
30,  1895.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  May  17,  1896.  Bert  L. 
French,  of  Marion,  was  the  architect,  and  the  church  was  dedicated 
November  7,  1897.  The  church  is  an  architectural  beauty  of  the 
English  Gothic  style,  and  built  of  buff  pressed  brick  with  Bedford 
stone  trimmings.  It  is  100  feet  in  length  and  fifty  feet  wide  in  the 
main,  and  sixty-six  feet  wide  in  the  transept.  One  of  the  towers 
is  120  feet  and  one  108.  The  height  of  the  ceiling  from  the  floor 
is  forty  and  one-half  feet.  The  auditorium  will  comfortably  sent 
600  people.  There  is  a  ten-foot  high  basement  under  the  entire 
structure,  used  as  a  chapel  and  society  rooms.  The  seats  are  of 
red  oak,  the  aisles  in  \'enetian  mosaic.  The  pillars  are  an 
excellent  representation  of  Mexican  onyx.  The  sanctuary  fioor  is 
in  \'enetian  mosaic  of  Carrara  marble,  containing  a  center-piece  in 
Roman  marble,  representing  the  figure  of  the  Lamb  and  the  book 
of  seals  from  the  Apocalypse.  The  altars  are  in  white  and  gold. 
The  chancel  rail  is  of  oak,  mounted  with  white  marble,  with 
emblems  of  the  four  evangelists  of  the  Passion  in  wood  carving, 
bronzed  and  gilded.  The  decorations  on  the  panels  represent  the 
four  Latin  doctors.  Among  the  statuary  are  two  adoring  angels, 
the  last  supper,  after  Leonardo  da  \'inci,  the  sacrifice  of  Melchise- 

1407) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

dek  and  the  sacrifice  of  Abraham.  In  a  niche  of  one  of  the  side 
altars  is  a  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Victory,  and  in  the  other  a  statue 
of  St.  Joseph — the  latter  after  one  of  the  masters  of  the  Iron  age. 
The  present  pastor  is  the  Rev.  W.  J.  Quinlan. 

PRESCOTT,  SHELBY  COUNTY. 

St.  Vincent's  Parish. — Few  members  of  the  many  Catholic 
congregations  of  the  proud  capital  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  with  its 
150,000  inhabitants,  would  dream  as  they  glide  over  Shelby  coun- 
ty's fertile  soil  at  a  speed  of  fifty  miles  an  hour,  and  fly  as  it  were, 
through  the  insignificant  little  village  of  Prescott  and  scarcely 
glance  at  the  beautiful  spire  surmounted  by  a  cross,  that  here  once 
stood,  in  the  form  of  an  insignificant  log  hut,  the  mother  church  of 
the  Indianapolis  congregations. 

The  first  Catholic  to  come  to  Shelby  county  was  Mrs.  Mary 
Cornell,  a  native  of  Maryland,  who  arrived  in  1824;  the  first  priest 
to  visit  the  county  was  Rev.  George  Elder,  who  came  in  1827,  and 
in  1828  delivered  a  lecture  in  the  school-house  at  Shelbyville. 

The  house  was  built  in  September,  1838,  at  the  nominal  cost 
of  $619,  but  prior  to  its  erection  the  sparse  settlements  of  Prescott 
and  vicinity  were  visited  at  regular  intervals  by  priests  from  Vin- 
cennes  and  elsewhere. 

After  the  completion  of  the  little  log  church-building  it  was 
blessed  by  Bishop  de  le  Hailandiere  in  1840,  and  the  priest  in 
charge  would  at  stated  times  mount  his  horse,  leave  his  little  parish 
and  repair  to  his  station  at  Indianapolis,  and  there  minister  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  a  small  band  of  faithful  souls,  who  listened  with 
love  and  gratitude  to  his  teachings.  This  devoted  man  was  Father 
Vincent  Bacquelin.  Indianapolis  was  then  a  mission  station 
attached  to  St.  Vincent  parish,  and  thus  it  remained  until  the 
death,  by  accident,  of  Father  Bacquelin,  in  September,   1846. 

The  successor  of  Father  Bacquelin  was  Rev.  John  Ryan,  who 
ministered  to  St.  Vincent  but  a  short  time,  being  followed  by  Father 
McDermott,  whose  pastorate  lasted  one  year.  The  next  pastor 
was  Rev.  Thomas  Murphy,  who  served  for  only  a  limited  period, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  Gueguen,  who  continued  in 
charge  for  four  years,  his  successor  being    Rev.  Daniel    Maloney, 

(40S) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

who  began  his  labor  in  1853.  In  May,  1855,  Rev.  Edward  Martin- 
ovic,  generally  called  Father  Martin,  took  charge  of  the  parish  and 
exercised  the  functions  of  his  holy  office  in  a  most  acceptable  man- 
ner until  early  in  the  year  1863,  when  he  was  relieved  of  the  work 
and  returned  to  his  native  country. 

The  next  in  order  of  succession  was  Rev.  John  P.  Gillig,  who 
served  until  1867,  when  Rev.  William  Doyle  became  pastor,  and 
he  in  turn  was  succeeded,  in  1868,  by  Rev.  Father  Rudolph. 
Father  Rudolph  successfully  ministered  to  the  congregation  until 
May  4,  1881,  and  to  this  energetic,  fearless  and  determined  man 
is  due  the  credit  of  erecting  and  formally  setting  apart  for  the 
worship  of  God,  without  indebtedness,  the  present  beautiful  church 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  at  Prescott. 

Fathers  Torbeck,  Guthneck,  Hundt,  Ginnsz  and  Danenhoffer 
followed  in  consecutive  order,  and  they  were  succeeded  January  i, 
1898,  by  Rev.  Charles  A.  Strieker. 

REMINGTON,    JASPER  COUNTY. 

St.  John  the  Evangelist  Church. — For  many  years  of  the  early 
history  of  St.  John's  church,  the  Catholics  of  Remington  and  vicin- 
ity were  without  a  building  for  worship.  They  had  mass  in  pri- 
vate residences — in  town,  at  the  home  of  Timothy  O'Connor;  and 
in  the  country  at  the  home  of  John  Eck.  Priests  from  Rensselaer, 
Reynolds  and  Kentland,  at  fixed  times,  visited  these  places. 
Usually  Father  Messmann,  of  Kentland,  came  to  the  former  and 
FatJier  Young,  of  Rensselaer,  came  to  the  latter.  With  the  growth 
of  the  town  and  country  the  Catholics  increased  until  they  became 
numerous  enough  to  found  a  congregation.  In  1873  the  rightreverend 
bishop  appointed  Rev.  Father  Messmann  to  build  them  a  church. 
This  reverend  father  at  once  gave  up  his  charge  at  Kentland  to  fill 
his  appointment  here.  Soon  many  busy  hands  were  at  work  on  a 
new  building  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  a  structure  30  x  50  was 
erected.  But  Father  Messmann  did  not  remain  long  to  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  his  labor.  The  bishop  removed  him  to  another  parish  and 
sent  Rev.  John  Shrader  to  take  his  place. 

Father  John  completed  the  building  and  dedicated  it  to  St. 
John.      This   church -edifice   was   constructed  at   a  cost  of  $1,600. 

25  (409) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

This  seemed  a  large  sum  for  the  congregation  then  at  Remington 
to  bear,  but,  led  by  an  ingenious  pastor,  they  devised  means  to 
reduce  the  debt,  and  laid  plans  by  which  it  would  finally  be  paid. 
Rev.  Shrader  in  1876  gave  up  his  pastorate  to  Rev.  Guido  Stallow. 
His  successor  was  Rev.  John  Wellinghoff.  During  his  pastorate 
the  congregation  grew  too  large  for  its  building.  In  1878  he  built 
an  addition  of  fifteen  feet  to  the  original  building.  This  addition 
is  occupied  by  the  altar  and  two  vestry  rooms.  His  successor, 
Rev.  Widerin,  took  charge  in  1879.  Father  Widerin  immediately 
after  coming  saw  the  need  of  a  new  parsonage,  and  called  on  the 
congregation  to  build  one.  Plans  were  soon  perfected  and  work 
begun  and  in  1880  a  parsonage  costing  $1,200  was  ready  for  use. 
Father  Widerin's  health  failed  him  and  he  soon  had  to  give  up  his 
charge. 

The  next  pastor  who  came  to  take  charge  of  the  congregation 
was  Rev.  Hellhake.  -He  was  a  large,  portly  man,  with  a  smile  and 
a  kind  word  for  every  one.  His  entire  pastorate  was  marked  with 
earnestness  and  energy.  He  was  replaced  in  1893  by  Rev.  M. 
Kelly,  who  remained  but  three  months.  He  died  in  the  hospital 
in  LaFayette. 

The  vacancy  left  by  Father  Kelly's  death  was  filled  by  Rev. 
John  B.  Berg,  the  present  pastor.  The  congregation  has  three 
societies.  St.  Mary's,  St.  Joseph's  and  Sacred  Heart  society,  and 
all  three  have  for  their  object  to  contribute  and  beautify  the  inte- 
rior of  the  church.  A  society  of  the  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters 
was  organized  in  1895.  This  is  a  mutual  aid  and  insurance 
society. 

Under  Father  Berg's  charge  the  congregation  has  once  more 
grown  too  large  for  the  old  building  and  it  is  his  intention  and  the 
desire  of  all  to  build  a  $10,000  brick  church  in  the  near  future. 

RENSSELAER,     JASPER    COUNTY. 

St.  Augustine  Church. — Bishop  Luers  purchased  a  site  on 
which  to  build  a  church  in  Rensselaer,  and  in  1882  Bishop  Dwen- 
ger  donated  the  same  for  the  said  purpose.  Prior  to  this  time 
services  were  held  in  the  orphan  asylum.  Rev.  Matthias  Zumbuelte 
at  that  time  having  charge.      January  22,   1882,  he  called  a  meet- 

("410r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

ing  of  the  congregation  and  a  building  committee  was  elected,  con- 
sisting of  Peter  Lordemann,  Michael  Folloran  and  Sylvester  Fal- 
ley.  Work  was  begun  on  the  building  July  17,  1882.  but  much 
trouble  was  experienced  during  the  construction.  The  foundation 
was  faulty  and  had  to  be  replaced;  funds  became  exhausted,  and 
so  the  building  was  not  completed  until  1885,  and  was  dedicated 
January  21.  Bishop  Dwenger  was  sick  at  the  time,  so  the  church 
was  blessed  by  Rev.  John  Guendling,  of  LaFayette,  and  Rev.  C. 
P.  Walters  preached  the  sermon.  The  church  cost  $5,000,  in 
size  is  37  X  80  feet,  and  is  well  furnished. 

In  1888,  Rev.  Anthony  Dick  succeeded  Rev.  Zumbuelte;  next 
Rev.  Stanislaus  Neiberg,  who  made  some  improvements  in  the 
church,  and  Mrs.  E.  P.  Hammond  deserves  special  mention  for 
her  liberal  contributions;  the  resources  of  the  parish  were  consid- 
erably augmented  by  a  very  successful  church  fair  held  in  1894. 
In  1897  Rev.  Bernard  Dickmann  took  charge,  and  in  1898  Rev. 
Edward  Jakob.  Ninety  families  comprise  the  congregation,  most 
of  whom  live  in  the  country,  and  some  at  a  long  distance  from  the 
church.  The  congregation  is  out  of  debt  and  has  a  surplus,  but 
as  yet  there  is  no  priest's  residence  nor  school.  St.  Joseph's  cem- 
etery is  located  two  miles  south  of  town. 

Rev.  Edward  Jakob,  C.  PP.  S.,  was  born  in  Minster,  Auglaize 
county,  Ohio,  in  1859.  He  was  educated  in  St.  Charles  seminary, 
C.  PP.  S.,  Ohio,  and  was  ordained  at  Covington,  Ky.,  in  July, 
1883,  by  Bishop  Toebbe.  He  was  then  six  years  in  Missouri, 
being  located  at  Montrose,  Henry  county,  and  also  had  charge  of 
several  other  missions  in  other  counties.  At  Montrose  he  built  a 
church  and  residence,  also  built  some  small  mission  churches  in 
that  district.  He  next  went  to  Lawrenceburg,  Tenn.,  where  he 
completed  a  church.  Two  years  later  he  went  to  New  Riegel, 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  and  had  charge  of  St.  Boniface  church,  and 
after  four  years  came  to  Rensselaer  and  took  charge  of  St. 
Augustine. 

REYNOLDS,     WHITE    COUNTY. 
t 

St.  Joseph's   Parish,  of   Reynolds,  was   organized   in    1865  by 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Winters,  who  was  at  that  time  assistant  pastor  of 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

St.  Mary's  church  at  LaFayette.  As  early  as  1856,  however, 
Catholic  clergymen  had  visited  Reynolds  and  had  baptized  several 
children,  and  mass  had  been  read  by  visiting  priests  at  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  Catholic  residents,  who,  each  in  turn,  gladly  welcomed 
the  honor  of  having  mass  said  in  his  house.  The  first  church,  the 
erection  of  which  took  place  in  1865,  was  a  small  frame  building, 
20  X  45  feet,  and  now  stands  at  the  rear  of  the  new  edifice.  A 
little  over  three  acres  of  ground  was  purchased  from  John  Britton 
by  the  Rev.  Father  Hamilton  for  his  assistant,  Father  Winters, 
and  the  church-building  cost  about  $975,  a  portion  of  which  sum 
was  contributed  by  a  few  Protestants,  there  being  then  only  fifteen 
Catholic  families  in  the  parish.  About  an  acre  was  laid  out  for  a 
cemetery  and  the  first  burial  therein  was  of  the  remains  of  Mrs. 
Mary  Eva  Grissmer,  in  November,    1868. 

Tiie  mission  of  St.  Joseph's,  at  Reynolds,  was  attended  by 
visiting  clergymen  from  LaFayette  until  the  appointment  of  the 
first  resident  priest.  Rev.  John  McMahon,  in  1872.  He  erected  a 
pastoral  residence  and  of^ciated  until  his  death  in  April,  1873, 
his  remains  being  interred  at  LaFayette.  The  Franciscan  Fathers 
of  LaFayette  then  took  charge  of  the  parish  and  stationed  here 
the  Rev.  Dominic  Meyers  as  their  first  resident  pastor.  He  erected 
the  present  church,  which  is  a  brick  edifice,  42  .\  96  feet,  and  cost 
about  $5,000,  but  as  many  of  the  congregation  performed  much  of 
the  labor,  the  outlay  of  cash  was  materially  restricted,  although 
the  membership  numbered  twenty-seven  families  only.  The  build- 
ing was  dedicated  in  1877  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Dwenger. 

The  succession  of  officiating  clergymen  has  been  as  follows: 
Rev.  Dominic  Meyers,  in  1879,  by  Rev.  Peter  Paul;  in  July,  1880, 
Rev.  C.  Steinkamp;  in  July,  1882,  Rev.  Ignatius  M.  Wilken;  in 
1884,  Rev.  John  B.  Schroeder;  in  1885,  Rev.  Augustine  Bayer;  in 
1886,  Rev.  Peter  Welling,  who  paid  off  all  debts;  in  1887,  Rev. 
Francis  S.  Schaefer.  In  1888  the  Order  of  St.  Francis  transferred 
the  church  to  the  bishop  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  Rev.  Matthias  Zum- 
buelte  was  appointed  pastor;  in  1890,  Rev.  John  B.  Berg  took 
charge,  and  during  his  incumbency  the  church  was  reshingled  and 
the  interior  frescoed.  In  1893,  Rev.  George  Schramm  was  placed 
in  charge;  in  1895,  Rev.   John  Blum,  and  in   November,   1896,  the 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

present  able  young  pastor,  Rev.  John  F.  Kubacki,  assumed  the 
pastorate.  He  has  placed  a  new  furnace  under  the  church  and  has 
also  built  a  brick  pastoral  residence  of  nine  rooms,  with  all  modern 
improvements,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $2,ooo.  to  which  small  amount 
it  was  held  down  by  the  contribution  of  considerable  gratuitous 
labor  by  members  of  the  congregation.  The  membership  now 
includes  forty-five  families,  and  is  out  of  debt.  The  people  are 
very  devoted  to  their  church  and  are  almost  proverbially  liberal, 
not  only  to  their  parochial  interest,  but  also  to  all  diocesan  chari- 
ties. Among  the  most  prominent  for  this  reason  are  the  families  of 
Geo.  Ruppert,  Michael  Owens,  Michael  Martin,  and  l^ernard 
Vogel,  John  and  Mrs.  V.  Emge,  Patrick  Mangan,  John  I^^oon  and 
John  Graftema. 

St.  Joseph's  has  now  no  school,  although  in  the  time  of  Rev. 
Clements  Steinkamp  a  school-house  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $475, 
and  the  pupils  placed  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Fran- 
cis, who  taught  until  the  expiration  of  Father  Steinkamp's  minis- 
trations. 

The  resident  priests  at  Reynolds  have  always  attended  other 
missions,  principally  Francesville  and  Medaryville.  These  are 
comparatively  old  missions,  as  there  are  some  traces  of  priests  as 
early  as  the  '50s,  though  the  first  definite  name  on  record  is  that 
of  Father  Steiner,  assistant  cure  of  St.  Mary's  of  LaFayette,  who 
in  1862  occasionally  visited  the  missions  and  said  mass  in  the 
houses  of  the  Catholics,  principally  in  those  of  Messrs.  Kilroy, 
Hearl  and  Racket  at  Francesville  and  Mr.  Nicoles  at  Medaryville. 
Father  Steiner  bade  the  missions  a  touching  farewell  on  August  16, 
1864,  and  was  succeeded  by  Father  Becks,  of  Michigan  City,  who 
in  turn  was  succeeded  by  Father  Burns  in  1865,  assistant  to  Father 
Hamilton  at  LaFayette.  Father  Burns  it  was  that  in  1866  built 
small  frame  churches,  20x45,  ^^  each  mission,  and  they  were  dedi- 
cated by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Dwenger  that  same  year.  In 
1867,  the  missions  were  assigned  to  Father  Iving,  of  Winamac  and 
Pulaski,  until  in  1869,  when  they  were  attached  to  Rensselaer,  where 
Father  Stefan  was  chaplain  of  the  Orphans'  home.  He  attended 
these  and  other  missions  until  1877,  haxing  in  the  meantime  moved 
to  San  Pierren,  and  in  that  year  the  two  missions  were  attached  to 

1413) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Reynolds  and  the  history  of  the  succession  of  their  pastors  is 
identical  with  that  of  the  latter  congregation.  The  mission  of 
Francesville  bids  fair  to  become  in  time  a  prosperous  congrega- 
tion. Its  membership  has  well  been  doubled  in  the  last  two  years 
by  prosperous  immigrant  farmers,  especially  from  Illinois,  all  of 
whom  take  a  lively  interest  in  the  parish.  Their  aspirations  are 
now  for  a  larger  church  and  a  resident  pastor,  which  will  undoubt- 
edly be  realized  in  the  near  future,  as  each  has  a  membership  of 
about  twenty-five  families  and  the  latter  especially  is  on  the 
increase. 

At  Monticello,  also,  there  is  a  small  church  and  four  lots, 
donated  by  Martin  Witz  (now  a  fallen-off  Catholic),  but  no  serv- 
ices are  held  there,  as  the  people  worship  at  St.  Joseph's  at  Rey- 
nolds, although  interest  is  being  promoted  by  Hon.  State  Senator 
Thomas  O'Connor,  of  that  place,  in  favor  of  a  more  suitable  loca- 
tion and  a  new  church.      May  God  bless  all  such  endeavors. 

RICHLAND    TOWNSHIP,     BENTON    COUNTY. 

St.  Anthony's  Parish,  in  Richland  township,  Benton  county, 
was  organized  in  1872,  by  a  body  of  Catholics  who  were  then 
attending  divine  services  at  Kentland,  in  Newton  county,  Anthony 
Dehner  donating  land  for  a  church  site  and  being  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal and  most  active  members  of  the  new  organization.  The 
young  congregation  was  attended  for  some  time  from  Kentland, 
but  now  has  its  resident  priest,  in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Bilstein,  who  also  ministers  to  the  small  congregation  of  St.  Peter 
and  Paul's,  at  Goodland,  in  Newton  county.  The  congregation  of 
St.  Anthony's  are  mostly  Germans,  are  thrifty,  have  kept  the 
church  free  from  debt,  and  this  year,  1898,  are  making  many 
improvements. 

RICHMOND,     W^AYNE    COUNTY. 

The  first  St.  Andrew's  church  at  Richmond,  Ind.,  was  erected 
in  1846,  and  its  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Father  Ryan.  In  May, 
1849,  Rev.  William  Doyle  became  its  second  pastor,  and  in  August, 
1853,  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  B.  Merl,  who  remained 
until   June,  1858.      In  the  meantime,  about  1854,  the  church   was 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

dedicated  by  Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere,  who  had  donated  $500  on 
condition  that  the  church  be  built  of  brick.  There  were  present 
on  this  occasion,  Rev.  Andrew  Bennett,  of  Dover,  Dearborn 
county,  and  Rev.  James  F.  Wood,  later  archbishop  of  Philadel- 
phia. The  congregation  was  next  under  the  char<(e  of  Rev.  Henry 
Peters,  who  remained  until.  March,  1859,  and  from  that  date  to 
December,  1859,  the  conj^rcf^ation  was  visited  by  Rev.  G.  H. 
Ostlauf^enber^  from  Brookville.  December  25,  1859,  Rev.  J.  B. 
H.  Seepe  was  appointed  resident  pastor  and  remained  until  Sep- 
tember, 1868.  This  worthy  priest,  the  year  after  his  cominj.;, 
erected  the  present  church-edifice,  120X  60  feet,  and  in  1865  built 
a  new  school-house,  and  in  1867  bouj^ht  twelve  acres  for  ceme- 
tery purposes.  From  November,  1.S68,  until  1877,  Rev.  Ferdi- 
nand Hundt  became  pastor.  Durinj^  his  incumbency  the  church 
tower  was  finished  in  1870,  and  the  cemetery  ground  improved 
and  a  beautiful  crucifixion  group  erected.  The  number  of  pupils 
now  attending  the  school,  under  instruction  of  a  lay  teacher  and 
five  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  reaches  300.  The  present  pastor  of  St. 
Andrew's  is  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Macke. 

St.  Mary's  Church. — In  i860,  the  English-speaking  Catholics 
of  Richmond  separated  from  their  German-speaking  brethren, 
with  whom  they  had  been  worshiping  in  St.  Andrew's  church,  and 
bought  a  church  property,  that  had  been  used  by  English  Luther- 
ans, of  Louis  Burke,  for  $8,000,  to  be  paid  in  installments  of 
$1,000  a  year,  and  this  church  soon  began  to  look  like  a  Catholic 
church. 

For  a  short  time  previously  St.  Mary's  church  was  visited  by 
Rev.  John  Contin,  and  after  him  by  Rev.  John  Gueguen.  In  October, 
i860,  a  resident  pastor  was  appointed  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Aug. 
Merz,  who  from  there  also  attended  Centerville,  Washington  and 
Hagerstown,  in  Wayne  county,  and  New  Castle  and  Middletown, 
in  Henry  county.  He  remained  until  September,  1863,  when  Rev. 
J.  M.  Villers  succeeded  him.  The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev. 
Francis  Moitrier,  who  resigned  in  October,  1872,  when  Rev.  D.  J. 
McMullen  succeeded. 

When  Rev.  Father  McMulJen  assumed  charge  of   St.  Mary's 

(415) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

congregation  in  October,  1872,  it  was  heavily  burdened  with  debt, 
but  his  superior  administrative  abilities  enabled  him  to  soon  set 
affairs  in  order.  He  united  the  people  in  one  line  of  thought  and 
in  one  purpose;  canceled  the  pecuniary  obligations,  and,  beside, 
has  since  purchased  $8,000  worth  of  property.  In  1891  he  bought 
the  land  at  the  corner  of  Seventh  and  North  Ninth  streets,  where 
the  present  church-edifice  stands,  120x45  feet,  and  through  his 
instrumentality  the  congregation  contributed  the  funds  to  pay  for 
the  land  and  improvements.  The  rest  of  the  square  he  himself 
purchased,  in  order  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  church  grounds, 
and  on  this  part  of  the  square  stands  the  school-house,  with  a 
frontage  of  240  feet  on  Seventh  street.  The  congregation  now 
numbers  over  200  families  and  the  school  attendance  208  pupils, 
and  this  prosperous  condition  is  almost  entirely  the  result  of  the 
earnest  pastor's  untiring  zeal  and  labor.  Beside  caring  for  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  of  St.  Mary's  congregation.  Father 
McMullen  attends  the  missions  at  Fountain  City,  north,  and  Cen- 
terville,  west  of  Richmond,  at  each  of  which  stations  a  few  Cath- 
olic families  reside. 

RIPLEY    COUNTY. 

St.  Magdalen's  congregation,  in  Ripley  county,  was  organized 
about  1846,  but  in  1844,  1845  and  1846  it  was  visited  as  a  station 
from  Indianapolis,  Madison  and  Scipio.  In  1847  Rev.  Alphonse 
Munschina  had  charge,  and  it  was  really  he  who  solidified  the 
infant  congregation,  and  attended  for  five  years.  In  1855-56  St. 
Magdalen's  was  visited  from  Madison,  then  for  three  years  from; 
St.  Ann's,  Rev.  J.  M.  Missi  coming  from  the  latter  place.  The 
first  resident  pastor  was  the  Rev.  H.  J.  Seibertz,  who  took  charge 
in  1865  or  1866,  and  labored  faithfully  until  1871,  and  the  second 
resident  priest.  Rev.  J.  P.  Gillig,  also  labored  zealously  and  with 
great  success  for  si.x  years.  The  present  and  third  resident  pastor, 
Rev.  Andrew  Michael,  was  placed  in  charge  in  1878.  He  was 
born  February  18,  1832,  and  was  ordained  priest  December  8, 
1859,  since  which  time  he  has  been  an  ardent  servant  of  the 
church. 

The  congregation  of  St.  Magdalen's  now  numbers  124  families,. 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol"    INDIANA. 

and  the  number  of  children  attending  the  parochial  school  averages 
ninety-six. 

KOCKNILI.E,     I'ARKE    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church. — Rev.  L.  Lalumiere,  at  one  time,  was 
the  only  priest  Bishop  Ih'ute  had  in  his  entire  diocese,  which  in- 
cluded the  whole  of  Indiana  and  a  portion  of  the  state  of  Illinois, 
and  in  1842  Father  Lalumiere  was  the  first  to  attend  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  the  scattered  Catholics  of  Parke  county.  Rev. 
Father  Ryan,  of  Illinois,  also  made  ministerial  visits  at  an  early 
day.  Father  Lalumiere,  however,  was  the  first  to  read  mass  in 
Rockvillc,  and  this  service  was  performed,  in  1854,  in  an  old  log 
house,  the  property  of  Martin  Ryan.  The  same  year  services  were 
also  held  by  him  in  what  was  Rockville's  first  school-house — a 
little  log  hut  on  John  Sillman's  place.  At  that  time  John  Broderick, 
a  railroad  contractor,  was  at  work  on  the  old  Evansville  &  Craw- 
fordsville  railway,  and  this  mass  was  attended  by  him  and  crew, 
and  so  numerous  were  the  persons  present,  both  Catholic  and 
Protestant,  that  the  good  father  was  compelled  to  erect  his  altar 
outside  the  little  school-house  and  hold  the  service  in  open  air. 
In  1855  services  were  held  at  Leatherwood,  in  the  house  of  a  Mr. 
Weldon,  on  what  was  called  Butler's  place.  In  1856  Father 
Highland  officiated  in  the  bakery  of  a  Mr.  Hannigan — a  small 
brick  building  on  the  site  of  the  present  Tribune  printing  office. 
As  late  as  1861,  Father  Highland,  who  had  his  charge  at  Green- 
castle,  celebrated  mass  in  the  house  of  John  Barry,  not  far  from 
the  present  Christian  church,  and  for  a  long  time  mass  was  read  at 
various  private  residences,  such  as  those  of  James  Kinney,  Mr. 
Raggett  and  Patrick  Reardon,  Father  Highland  remaining  about  a 
week  at  a  time.  At  Montezuma  he  held  services  in  the  old  log 
house  of  James  Reardon,  which  is  still  standing.  From  1861  to 
1869  Rockville  and  Montezuma  were  ministered  to  by  Benedictine 
Fathers — Right  Rev.  Fintan  Mundwiler,  O.  S.  B.,  late  abbot  at 
St.  Meinrad,  Ind.,  Rev.  Chrysostome  FofYa,  O.  S.  B.,  and  Rev. 
Bede  O'Connor,  O.  S.  B. 

In  1867  Rev.  Meinrad  McCarty,  O.  S.  B.,  known  as  the 
"Church  Builder,"  from  St.  Mary's  of  the   Woods,    Vigo  county, 

"(417) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

officiated  every  sixth  week,  and  succeeded  in  effecting  a  permanent 
church  organization.  He  purchased  lot  No.  4,  in  the  West  addition 
to  Rockville,  from  a  Mr.  Blackledge,  on  which  was  a  carpenter 
shop,  and  the  frame  work  of  a  house,  used  in  the  construction  of  a 
church  in  Montezuma,  the  consideration  being  $1,000.  The  church 
at  Rockville  was  dedicated  as  the  church  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception; that  at  Montezuma  was  named  in  honor  of  the  Nativity  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  From  1869  to  1878  Terre  Haute  sup- 
plied the  clergyman — notably,  Rev.  H.  Alerding,  then  assistant 
pastor  of  St.  Joseph's,  Terre  Haute,  and  now  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's, 
Indianapolis.  In  1872  the  Franciscan  Fathers  (O.  M.  C.)  assumed 
charge  of  St.  Joseph's  at  Terre  Haute,  and  from  these  fathers  came 
the  ministers  to  Rockville  and  Montezuma  until  1876  or  1877,  and 
about  the  latter  year  Father  Quinlan  took  the  initial  steps  toward 
settling  a  resident  priest  in  these  missions  by  building  a  parsonage 
of  four  rooms  at  Montezuma,  and  here  begins  the  history  of  St. 
Joseph  parish  proper. 

February    i,   1878,  Rev.    T.    O'Donaghue  was  appointed   the 
first  resident  priest    at    Montezuma,  and   zealously  discharged   his 
duties  until  October  16,   1879,  when   he   was   succeeded   by  Revs. 
Riehle   and   McBarron,  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  'Woods,  Vigo  county, 
who,    in    December  of  the   same  year,   were   succeeded   by    Rev. 
Father  Kintrup,  who  erected  a  belfry  and   secured    a   bell    for  the 
Montezuma  church;  but  an  unhappy  fate  attended  this  holy  man, 
which  must  briefly  be  narrated.      The    night    of   March    30,   1882, 
when  crossing  the  railroad  bridge  over  the  Wabash  river,  for  which 
no  provision  had  been  made  for  foot-passengers,  he  was  overtaken 
by  a  train  of  cars,  and  in  his  effort  to  avoid  it.  missed  his  foothold 
and  perished   in    the   stream   beneath.      His  body  was    found  next 
morning  about  two  miles  above  Clinton,  and  interred  in  tl^.e  ceme- 
tery at  Armiesburg.     After  this  sad  event  the  pulpit  at  Montezuma 
was  supplied  by  a  line  of  pious  and  worthy  priests,  including  Revs. 
Fathers   Pierrard,    Joseph,    Boever,    D.    Swagers,  McEvoy,  T.  W. 
Cosgrove,  and  again  by  McEvoy  and  Joseph  (O.  M.  C),  John  Cof- 
fey and  P.  Nix,  up   to  1886,  when   the   church    at   Rockville   was 
erected.      Of  these  reverend  fathers  it  may  be  mentioned,  in  pass- 
ing, that  the  incumbency  of  Father  Cosgrove  was  very  brief,  as  he 

(4iyr 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

assumed  his  charge  in  March,  1884.  and  was  suddenly  summoned  to 
the  home  of  the  blessed,  from  the  home  of  Martin  Ryan,  after  a 
pastorate  of  ninety  da5's  only. 

In  the  fall  of  1886  the  energetic  and  zealous  Father  Nix 
erected  the  present  church  edifice  in  Rockville,  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
$2,000.  In  July,  1887,  this  building  was  consecrated  to  God  and 
named  m  honor  of  St.  Joseph,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Msgnr.  Besso- 
nies.  Father  Nix,  the  first  pastor,  was  soon  thereafter  transferred 
to  Bodie,  Cal.,  and  died  in  San  Francisco  in  July,  1893.  Revs. 
Fathers  McEvoy  and  Joseph,  O.  M.  C,  next  ministered  at  Rock- 
ville and  Montezuma  until  July,  1889,  when  the  Rev.  Joseph  T. 
Bauer,  then  living  at  St.  Mary's,  was  placed  in  spiritual  charge  of 
the  Catholic  popula  ion  of  the  counties  of  Parke  and  Vermillion 
and  the  extreme  northeastern  portion  of  Vigo  county.  Beside  the 
parsonage  this  reverend  and  faithful  pastor  erected  in  1891,  he 
organized  a  permanent  and  thriving  Sunday-school,  a  choir  and 
the  usual  church  societies,  all  of  which  are  in  prosperous  condi- 
tion.     The  congregation  is  now  attended  by  priests  from  Clinton. 

ROME  CITY,    NOBLE  COUNTY. 

St.  Peter's  Church  at  Rome  City  is  a  mission  of  the  church  of 
the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  at  Avilla,  and  was  organized 
in  1893  by  Rev.  D.  Duehmig;  the  church  building,  36  x  40  feet, 
was  dedicated  Sunday,  October  3,  1893,  by  Bishop  Richter,  of 
Grand  Rapids.  Mich.,  Father  Brammer,  of  Fort  Wayne,  preaching 
the  dedicatory  sermon.  The  cost  of  the  building  was  about  $2,- 
300.  It  is  a  neat  little  structure— almost  a  miniature  of  St.  Peter's, 
at  Rome,  Italy.  This  mission  is  attended  only  in  summer  season, 
or  on  especial  occasions,  the  place  being  a  beautiful  resort,  where 
many  prominent  Catholics  have  cottages,  and  during  this  time  of 
year  the  attendance  is  quite  large. 

RUSHVILLE,     RUSH    COUNTY. 

The  Church  of  Mary  Immaculate  at  Rushville  has  a  strong 
and  progressive  parish  whose  spiritual  needs  are  carefully  guarded 
and  preserved  by  Rev.  Father  T.  X.  Logan,  who  has  erected  one 
of  the  most   handsome   and   costly  new  houses  of  worship  in    the 

~(4l9) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

state.  The  early  history  of  this  church  was  one  of  struggle  and 
difficulty,  but  out  of  its  primitive  vicissitudes  it  emerged  grandly, 
all  the  stronger  for  the  conflict,  and  more  effectually  equipped  for 
the  duties  of  a  permanent  establishment. 

About  the  year  1850,  the  early  missionaries  visited  this  section 
and  established  a  mission  chapel  in  the  western  part  of  the  town. 
Here  intermittent  mission  services  were  held  until  the  year  1868, 
when  Rev.  Father  McMullen,  now  of  Richmond,  Ind. ,  was  installed 
as  the  first  regular  pastor.  Father  Peters  had  caused  to  be  erected 
in  1857  a  small  frame  church  near  the  spot  occupied  by  the  pres- 
ent house  of  worship,  and,  under  his  spiritual  direction,  the  welfare 
of  the  church  advanced  largely.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
1868  came  Rev.  Father  D.  J.  McMullen,  who  was  the  first  resident 
pastor,  the  church  having  by  that  time  grown  in  numerical  impor- 
tance to  a  point  that  the  constant  and  personal  services  of  a  resi- 
dent priest  were  required.  For  four  years  he  ministered  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  this  congregation,  and  was  succeeded  October  i, 
1872,  by  Rev.  Father  Leo  Adams,  whose  ministry  continued  until 
January,  1875.  Then  came  Rev.  Father  E.  J.  Spelman,  now  of 
Cambridge  City,  Ind.,  who  continued  here  until  June,  1880.  Under 
his  pastorate  the  present  parochial  residence  was  built,  and  the 
affairs  of  the  church  materially  advanced.  Father  Spelman  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  J.  Macke,  of  Aurora,  Ind., who  remained  here 
until  in  February,  1888.  It  was  under  his  direction  that  the  excel- 
lent parochial  school  and  Sister's  home  were  erected.  He  was 
succeeded  by  the  present  beloved  pastor.  Rev.  Father  T.  X.  Logan. 

ST.     JOHN,    LAKE    COUNTY. 

St.  John  the  Evangelist  Parish,  at  St.  John,  was  for  many 
years  a  mission,  with  no  house  of  worship,  but  in  1842  the  con- 
gregation erected  a  small  frame  church  building  about  one-half 
mile  southeast  of  the  site  of  the  present  church-edifice.  The 
parish  was  properly  organized,  in  1846,  by  Father  Fisher,  and  a 
large  log  church  was  erected  to  accommodate  the  rapidly  increas- 
ing membership,  and  the  small  frame  building  was  converted  into 
a  school-house.  In  1855  the  membership  had  increased  to  no 
families,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  demolish  the   log   church, 

(420r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

which  was  done  in  1857.  and  a  handsome  structure  erected   in   its 
stead. 

Father  Fisher  was  succeeded  at  St.  John's,  at  unrecorded  dates, 
by  Rev.  Francis  Antonio  Carius,  and  he  by  the  Holy  Cross  Fathers 
of  Notre  Dame — Cointet  and  SchilHng.  They  were  followed  by 
Rev.  Bernard  E.  Vours,  in  1854;  Rev.  Andrew  Tusch,  in  1858; 
then  came  Rev.  Jacob  Mayer,  who  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  B. 
Rachor,  who  remained  twelve  years  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
present  pastor.  Rev.  Anthony  Heitmann,  who  was  born  in  Olden- 
burg. Germany,  September  19,  1832,  was  there  educated,  but  was 
ordained  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  by  Bishop  Luers,  March  25,  1865. 
For  five  and  a  half  years.  Father  Heitmann  was  assistant  at  St. 
Mary's  church,  and  in  October,  1870.  was  placed  in  his  pres- 
ent position  of  pastor  of  St.  John's.  Here  he  has  labored  most 
zealously  and  has  greatly  advanced  the  prosperity  of  his  church 
and  congregation.  The  present  valuation  of  the  church  property 
is  placed  at  $23,000,  the  parsonage  costing  $10,000;  and  the 
grounds  belonging  to  the  congregation  comprise  about  six  acres, 
the  cemetery  being  at  the  side  of  the  church-edifice.  The  school, 
attended  by  140  pupils,  is  in  charge  of  four  lay  teachers. 

ST.   Joseph's  hill,    clark  county. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  at  St.  Joseph's  Hill,  has  a  history  dating 
back,  possibly,  to  1850.  There  was  a  church-building  in  the 
place,  it  is  well  known,  before  there  was  a  priest  to  officiate.  In 
1853  a  frame  church,  65x27  feet,  was  built,  and  Father  Bessonies 
was  the  first  to  offer  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  at  St.  Joseph's  Hill. 
The  exact  date  is  not  obtainable  from  the  records,  nor  can  he 
remember  it. 

After  Father  Bessonies  the  place  was  occasionally  visited  until 
i860  by  Rev.  Fathers  Faller  and  Weutz,  of  Annunciation  church, 
New  Albany.  After  them  came  Rev.  Father  Michael,  who  was 
the  first  resident  pastor  of  the  place.  He  remained  from  i860 
until  January,  1864,  and  built  the  present  brick  parsonage  at  a 
cost  of  over  $2,000.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  H.  Panzer,  who 
had  charge  of  the  congregation  from  1865  until  1873.  He  built 
the   parish   school-house   and    Sisters'    residence   at   an    outlay   of 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

$2,000.  Rev.  Joseph  Dickmann  took  charge  May  28^  1873.  He 
continued  the  enterprise  of  his  predecessors  and  was  ably  seconded 
by  the  people  in  his  efforts  to  pay  off  the  debts  and  make  necessary 
and  creditable  improvements.  In  1880  he  built  the  splendid  brick 
church  which  now  is  a  monument  to  the  liberality  of  the  people  of 
St.  Joseph's,  and  a  credit  to  the  good  taste  and  zeal  of  their  pastor. 
From  the  eminence  of  the  parish  grounds  it  overlooks  the  valley 
and  the  railroad,  and  has  its  beauty  reflected  by  the  long  range  of 
high  hills  to  the  north  and  west.  With  material,  etc.,  at  first  cost, 
its  construction  and  interior  finish  occasioned  an  outlay  of  only 
$10,000,  while  as  a  whole  it  is  good  value  for  considerably  over 
$18,000.  Its  pulpit  and  altar-railing  are  not  surpassed  anywhere 
in  the  diocese. 

The  church  is  built  of  brick,  is  50x115  feet  in  dimensions, 
and  its  spire,  surmounted  by  a  golden  cross,  reaches  a  height  of 
130  feet.  The  parish  grounds  comprise  ten  acres,  and  the  part 
immediately  in  front  of  the  church  is  used  as  the  cemetery.  The 
entire  property  of  the  congregation  is  valued  at  about  $27,000, 
with  no  debts.  The  schools  are  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis,  and  about  105  children  attend  them.  There  are  over  125 
families,  mostly  Germans,  in  the  parish,  the  great  majority  of 
them  being  farmers  who  own  their  own  lands  and  are  as  com- 
fortably circumstanced  as  they  are  remarkably  generous  to  the 
church  and  devoted  to  their  faith. 

The  present  pastor  is  the  Rev.  John  Joseph  M.  Gabriel, 
whose  life-sketch  will  be  found  in  the  second  volume  of  this  work. 

ST.  LEON,  DEARBORN  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  at  St.  Leon. — From  the  records  are 
gleaned  the  following  facts  in  relation  to  this  parish.  The  first  priest 
who  officiated  for  the  people  was  Rev.  William  Engel,  in  1845. 
His  successor  was  Rev.  Andrew  Bennett,  from  1846  to  December, 
1851;  next  was  Rev.  H.  A.  Stahl,  from  185 1  to  1852;  next  was 
Rev.  A.  Pinkers,  from  1854  to  April  21,  1855,  and  next  was  Rev. 
H.  Koering,  till  July,  i860;  next  was  Rev.  Leo,  O.  S.  F.,  from  St. 
Peter's,  till  December,  i860.  Father  Scheideler  came  next  and 
remained  from   December,  i860,  to  July  19,   1874,  an   administra- 

(422) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

tion  of  fourteen  years.  Whilst  here  he  erected  the  present  church, 
1 20  .X  58  feet,  with  aspire  120  feet  high,  and  placed  in  three  bells, 
three  altars  and  a  pipe-organ,  and  erected  the  school-building  of 
two  stories,  eighty  feet  front  and  forty  feet  wide.  There  are  two 
school-rooms,  and  a  dwelling  for  the  Franciscan  Sisters,  of  whom 
there  are  three — -two  as  teachers  and  one  as  attendant.  The  next 
pastor  was  Rev.  John  Gabriel,  from  July,  1874,  to  November, 
1896,  and  after  him  came  Rev.  Adam  Feigen,  the  present  active 
and  enthusiastic  priest. 

ST.  Peter's,  franklin  county. 

St.  Peter's  Church,  in  Franklin  county,  was  erected  in  1853, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $5,000,  and  is  about  104  feet  in  depth,  by  forty- 
six  feet  front,  with  side-walls  thirty-one  feet  high;  is  of  Gothic  archi- 
tecture exteriorly  and  interiorly,  and  is  one  of  the  most  pictur- 
esque, its  size  considered,  of  any  church-edifice  in  the  diocese.  It 
was  consecrated  the  same  year  in  which  it  was  erected,  and  for 
several  years  was  in  the  care  of  different  clergymen  until  1882, 
when  Rev.  William  Kemper  succeeded  Rev.  Leo  Osredkar. 

Under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  William  Kemper  a  new  rectory 
was  built,  at  a  cost  of  $2,200,  and  also  the  sanctuary,  and  the 
church  redecorated.  Father  Kemper  retired  in  July,  1886,  and  in 
August,  following,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Ferdinand  Hundt,  who 
remained  until  April,  1890,  but  his  ministrations  were  not  attended 
by  any  remarkable  results,  and  until  February,  1891,  the  congre- 
gation was  without  a  pastor.  At  this  date  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Fleisch- 
mann,  who  had  hitherto  been  rector  at  St.  Celestine,  Dubois  county, 
was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Peter's,  and  is  the  present  incumbent 
of  the  pastorate. 

At  the  organization  of  St.  Peter's,  the  congregation  consisted 
of  seven  families  only,  but  at  the  present  time  it  consists  of  130 
families.  In  1892  new  and  enlarged  stained-glass  windows  were 
placed  in  the  church,  at  a  cost  of  $998,  and  the  steeple  repaired 
and  remodeled;  new  sacristies  were  introduced  in  1896,  at  a  cost 
of  $600,  and  in  1897  ^  new  communion  railing,  costing  $150, 
and  a  large  furnace,  for  heating  the  auditorium,  was  also  put  in 
place. 

"(428) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  school  attached  to  the  church  was  organized  by  Rev. 
WilHam  Engler,  with  ten  pupils,  who  were  educated  in  a  small 
room  in  a  private  house;  then  a  small  log  school-house  was  erected, 
but  this,  a  short  time  afterward,  was  destroyed  by  fire.  In  1875 
the  present  brick  school-house  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $3,000. 
This  school-house  contains  two  rooms,  and  the  pupils  now  enrolled 
number  120. 

Rev.  Joseph  Aloj'sius  Fleischmann,  pastor  of  St.  Peter's 
church,  is  a  native  of  Lachen,  Switzerland,  was  born  September 
14,  1846,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  Henry  and  Mary  Ann  (Haemmerly) 
Fleischmann,  natives  of  the  same  country.  Rev.  Joseph  Aloysius 
Fleischmann  was  educated  at  St.  Meinrad's  Theological  seminary, 
in  Spencer  county,  Ind.,  and,  after  being  ordained  priest,  filled 
several  pastorates  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  benefit  to  his 
flocks,  and  in  February,  1891,  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  the 
church  at  St.  Peter's,  where  his  labors  have  been  as  untiring 
as  elsewhere  in  his  earlier  days,  and  have  met  with  phenomenal 
results. 

ST.    VINCENT    DE    PAUL    PARISH,    ALLEN    COUNTY. 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Parish,  of  Washington  township,  Allen 
county,  six  miles  north  of  Fort  Wayne,  was  organized  in  1859,  and 
the  present  church  erected  in  1861  under  the  auspices  of  Rev. 
Father  Adam,  the  congregation  at  that  time  being  composed  almost 
exclusively  of  French  families.  The  church-building  was  erected 
through  the  energy  and  devotion  of  Father  Adam,  who  held  charge 
of  the  parish  for  a  few  years  and  was  succeeded  by  several  others 
until  Rev.   A.  E.  LaFontaine  was  placed  in  charge. 

Father  LaFontaine  was  born  in  Montreal,  Canada,  in  April. 
1867,  a  son  of  Toissaint  LaFontaine,  and  until  nineteen  years  of 
age  attended  the  college  of  the  Assumption,  in  the  province  of  Que- 
bec, in  order  to  prepare  himself  for  the  priesthood.  He  then  went 
to  Genoa,  Italy,  where  he  finished  his  philosophical  and  theolog- 
ical courses  of  study,  and  was  ordained  in  holy  orders  June  11, 
1892,  for  the  diocese  of  Toronto,  Canada,  where  he  was  stationed 
until  May,  1895.  when  he  was  transferred  to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind., 
where  he  served  as  an  assistant  in  the  cathedral  until  July,  1897, 

(424) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

when  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  his  present 
charge,  with  the  missions  of  Leo,  eight  miles  northeast,  and  St. 
Michael's,  five  miles  east.  Father  LaFontaine's  congregation  num- 
bers about  seventy-two  families,  over  whom  he  exercises  the  most 
salutary  care  and  whose  love  and  respect  for  him  are  made  mani- 
fest at  all  times.  The  pastoral  residence  and  church-building  are 
on  a  lot  of  two  acres  and  the  cemetery  grounds  occupy  a  lot  of 
about  three  acres  and  is  well  cared  for. 

ST.    WENDEL,    POSEY  COUNTY. 

Prior  to  December,  1841,  mass    had    been  celebrated    in    St. 
Wendel  parish  from  the  time  of  its  creation  in  the  home  of  Martin 
Kohl,  but  in  Christmas  week  of  the  year  mentioned  the   congrega- 
tion,   composed  of    twenty    families,    prepared    the    material   and 
erected   within    five   days  a   log   structure   as  a  house  of  worship. 
This  chapel  was   regularly   visited   by    Rev.    Ramon    Weinzoepfel 
until    May,    1842,    and   in  October  of  the  same  year   Rev.  Conrad 
Schneiderjans     became     the    first   resident    pastor,    enjoying    the 
hospitality  of  Mr.  Kohn  until  a  primitive  log  cabin  was  erected  for 
his  home,  and  here  he  remained  until    the   fall   of    1845,    when  he 
was   called   by   the  bishop   to   Vincennes,  after  which  St.  Wendel 
was  occasionally  visited  by  Revs.  Charles  Oppermann  and  Martin 
Stohl  until  April,   1846,  when  Father  Weinzoepfel  returned  to  the 


mission. 


Rev.  Father  W^einzoepfel  labored  hard    for   the   improvement 
of  his  parish  and  the  church  property.      The  little  log  building  had 
now  become    too   small    for   the  growing  congregation,    and   steps 
were    taken    for   the   erection  of  a  new  church.      The  material  was 
mostly  donated,  a  subscription  of  $5,000  was  raised,  and  April  17, 
1853,  Bishop  de   St.    Palais  laid    the   corner-stone.  Rev.  Leonard 
Brandt  preaching  the   German  and  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor  the  Eng- 
lish sermon.      October  22,  1854,  Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  assisted  by 
Father  Weinzoepfel,  Revs.  E.  J.  Durbin,  of  Kentucky,  A.  Deydier, 
J.  B.  Chasse,  Bede  O'Connor  and    Ulrich  Christen,  solemnly  con- 
secrated the   new   structure   to  the    worship  of  God.      The  cost  of 
this    building,  exclusive  of  material  and  labor,  was  $5,600.     Jan- 
uary I,  1857,  Father  Weinzoepfel  took  possession  of  the  pastoral 


26 


(425) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

residence,  and  the  same  year  additional  donations  of  ground  were 
made,  a  barn  erected,  a  steeple  for  the  church  built,  a  bell  pur- 
chased, and  also  a  painting  of  the  patron  saint. 

In  1858  Father  Weinzoepfel  asked  for  a  change  of  field,  and 
this  request  was  granted,  the  bishop  appointing  him,  August  17, 
pastor  of  New  Alsace.  From  September  6,  1858,  until  February 
8,  1863,  Rev.  Paul  Wagner  was  pastor;  Rev.  J.  Kauffman,  from 
April  6,  1863,  to  March  24,  1865;  Rev.  J.  H.  Diestel,  from  April 
25  to  September  27,  1865;  Rev.  M.  Andres,  from  December  10, 
1865,  till  June  26,  1867,  and  during  his  pastorate  a  brick  parsonage 
of  nine  rooms  was  erected;  Rev.  J.  B.  Merl  attended  from  Septem- 
ber 22  to  December  5.  1867;  Rev.  Charles  Exel,  from  December 
19,  1867,  to  March  4,  1871;  Father  Merl  again  attended  until  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1872;  Rev.  Nicholas  Galweiler  was  resident  pastor  from 
March  3,  1872,  to  August  10,  1873,  and  in  this  brief  period  a  brick 
school-house  of  two  rooms  and  a  dwelling  for  the  teacher  were 
erected;  Rev.  Aloysius  Danenhoffer  was  pastor  from  September  7, 
1873,  to  September  28,  1878,  and  in  his  time  were  built  a  kitchen  for 
the  teacher's  house  and  a  barn,  new  church  bells  were  bought  and 
a  furnace  placed  in  the  church;  from  October  6,  1878,  to  June, 
1879,  visits  were  made  by  Revs.  Joseph  Schenk  and  John  Stolz, 
and  June  6,  1879,  the  present  efficient  pastor,  Rev.  Michael  Heck, 
was  placed  in  charge. 

Since  the  incumbency  of  Father  Heck  a  wonderful  change  has 
taken  place  at  St.  Wendel.  He  has  effected  an  entire  transforma- 
tion of  the  interior  of  the  church  by  introducing  a  costly  altar,  hard- 
wood pews,  rich  paintings  of  Bible  scenes,  new  frescoes,  a  superb 
pulpit  on  the  north  side  of  the  auditorium,  marble  fonts,  and  fresh 
slating  for  the  roof  of  the  edifice,  as  well  as  the  erection  of  new 
school-buildings,  and  so  increased  the  value  of  the  church  property 
that  it  is  now  valued  at  $30,000. 

The  schools  of  St.  Wendel  have  by  no  means  been  neglected. 
The  first  classes  were  taught  by  F.  W.  Pepersack  during  the  pas- 
torate of  Rev.  Father  Weinzoepfel,  but  it  was  not  until  the  incom- 
ing of  Father  Heck  that  the  schools  were  truly  vitalized.  In  March, 
1884,  he  broke  ground  for  a  fine  two-story  brick  school-house, 
70x70  feet,  and  this  was  completed   in  August  of  the  same  year 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

at  a  cost  of  $8,000.  This  school  is  in  charge  of  three  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis  as  teachers,  but,  of  course,  Father  Heck  gives  it  his  per- 
sonal supervision.  The  attendance  numbers  150  pupils,  while  the 
church  membership  includes  170  families,  with  a  total  attendance 
at  worship  of  940  souls.  That  the  pious  and  venerated  Father 
Heck  has  been  efficient,  faithful  and  constant  to  his  duties  and 
energetic  in  his  labors  for  the  welfare  of  the  church,  and  especially 
that  of  his  parishioners,  is  too  obvious  to  need  comment,  but  he 
finds,  to  a  great  extent,  his  reward  in  the  love  and  honor  rendered 
him  by  his  flock  and  the  well-deserved  approbation  of  his  superiors. 

SCHEREKVILLE,     LAKE    COUNTY. 

St.  Michael's  Church  at  Schererville  was  erected  in  1874  at  a 
cost  of  $5,000,  and  is  one  of  the  prettiest  little  church  edifices  in 
northwestern  Indiana.  Rev.  F.  A.  King  was  the  second  pastor  of 
this  church  and  remained  in  charge  two  years,  after  which  Rev. 
Father  Bonthe  officiated  for  five  months  only,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Father  Deisnel,  who  carefully  guarded  the  flock  for  four 
years.  Father  William  Berg,  the  present  able  pastor,  was  then 
placed  in  charge  and  has  done  an  immense  amount  of  good  work 
in  elevating  the  spiritual  condition  of  his  flock  and  in  improving 
its  temporal  affairs.  The  school  of  St.  Michael's  parish  is  attended 
by  forty  pupils,  who  are  under  the  tuition  of  two  Franciscan  Sis- 
ters of  the  Sacred  Heart. 

SCHNELLVILLE,     DUBOIS    COUNTY. 

Sacred  Heart  Church  at  Schnellville  was  erected  about  1869. 
The  first  mass  in  the  parish  was  read  in  1867  by  Rev.  Placidus 
Zarn,  O.  S.  B.,  at  the  residence  of  Henry  Schnell,  who  founded 
the  village  in  1866,  after  his  return  from  the  Civil  war.  A  frame 
structure  was  blessed  by  the  Very  Rev.  Prior  Martin  Marty,  O. 
S.  B.,  and  Rev.  Father  Kraus  became  the  first  resident  pastor. 
He  erected  the  priest's  house,  which  stood  until  April  24,  1898, 
when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  with  all  the  personal  property  of  the 
priest,  including  his  library.  The  parish  is  situated  eleven  miles 
southeast  of  Jasper  and  thirteen  miles  northepst  of  Huntingburg, 
and  the  land,  comprising  ten  acres,  was  donated  by  Henry  Schnell, 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

who  was  the  prime  mover  in  establishing  the  parish,  and  this  land 
lies  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  of  the  village.  A  fair  cash 
valuation  of  the  church  property,  at  this  time,  would  reach  $5,000. 
Rev.  Gustave  Michael  Ginnsz,  the  present  pastor  and  one  of 
the  oldest  and  best-known  priests  of  Indianapolis,  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Sacred  Heart  church  in  July,  1896,  and  has  faith- 
fully labored  here,  as  he  has  done  elsewhere,  for  the  welfare  of  his 
parishioners  and  the  glory  of  his  church.  His  congregation  num- 
bers about  seventy  families  and  a  branch  of  the  Catholic  Knights 
of  America  numbers  nineteen.  This  society  is  of^cered  as  follows: 
President,  August  Blume  ;  corresponding  secretary,  Maurice  Fritz; 
financial  secretary.  John  Block  ;  treasurer,  Garrett  Welp  ;  state 
organizer,  Frank  Block.  Meetings  take  place  twice  each  month. 
The  school  attached  to  the  church  was  established  years  ago  and 
is  under  the  direction  of  three  Benedictine  Sisters,  who  have  under 
their  instruction  about  eighy-five  pupils. 

SEYMOUR,    JACKSON    COUNTY. 

St.  Ambrose  Church,  of  Seymour,  is  located  at  the  corner  of 
Chestnut  and  South  streets.  The  village  was  inhabited  by  Cath- 
olics as  early  as  1852,  and  the  first  church,  a  frame  structure,  was 
(3rected  in  1856.  The  spiritual  wants  of  the  early  Catholics  were 
attended  to  by  different  clergymen  from  Jeffersonville,  Buena  Vista 
and  Columbus.  In  1870.  owing  to  the  rapid  growth  of  membership, 
the  original  church  proved  far  too  small,  and  was  replaced  by  the 
present  spacious  and  substantial  edifice. 

In  1873  the  congregation  received  its  first  resident  pastor  in 
the  person  of  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Schenk,  whose  pastorate  extended 
over  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  In  1874  St.  Ambrose  academy, 
an  imposing  building,  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  In 
1880  a  pastoral  residence  was  purchased  for  the  consideration  of 
$1,000.  In  1884  the  church  was  enlarged  at  an  expenditure  of 
about  $4,000.  In  1887,  Rev.  Father  Schenk  was  transferred  to 
St.  Joseph.  Vanderburg  county,  Ind. ,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
present  incumbent,  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Conrad. 

During  the  administration  of  Rev.  Father  Conrad  the  congre- 
gation has  signally  prospered.      The  debt  of  $7,200,  contracted  in 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

former  years,  has  been  reduced  to  $1,700.  The  church  property 
was  enclosed  by  an  iron  fence  at  an  expense  of  $315;  the  interior 
of  the  church  has  been  perceptibly  improved  by  being  frescoed  at 
a  cost  of  $535,  new  cathedral  glass  windows,  costing  $520,  and 
three  new  altars  with  appurtenances,  entailing  an  expenditure  of 
$1,040.  In  the  year  1891  a  handsome  new  pastoral  residence  was 
erected  at  an  outlay  of  $2,600.  The  steeple  of  the  church  is  i  i  5 
feet  high.  The  parochial  school  is  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of 
Providence,  and  the  average  attendance  is  about  100  pupils,  to 
whom  both  secular  and  religious  education  is  imparted.  The  two 
leading  societies  in  connection  with  the  church  are  St.  Ambrose 
Benevolent  society  and  the  Young  Men's  institute,  the  former  hav- 
ing been  founded  in  1873,  while  the  latter  organized  in  1895. 

SHELBYVILLE,  SHELBY  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church. — As  earl}'  as  1850  Catholic  services 
were  held  at  Shelby ville,  Ind.,  in  private  dwellings  and  in  the  few 
public  halls  in  the  town,  but  it  was  not  until  about  1865  that  the 
congregation  felt  itself  justified  in  taking  steps  for  the  erection  of 
a  church  edifice.  At  that  date,  Rev.  J.  P.  Gillig  purchased  a  lot 
on  East  Broadway,  and  the  6th  day  of  August,  1867,  on  the  feast 
of  the  Transfiguration,  ground  was  broken  for  a  foundation  for  the 
contemplated  building  under  the  supervision  of  Rev.  William 
Doyle,  who  superintended  the  work  of  construction  to  the  point 
where  the  building  was  inclosed,  the  floors  laid,  the  windows  put 
in  place,  and  the  structure  roofed,  and  the  first  mass  celebrated  in 
June,  1868.  About  this  time,  also,  dif^culties  began  to  arise  from 
want  of  funds  to  meet  the  indebtedness  already  incurred;  suit  was 
brought  against  the  congregation  and  judgment  rendered  against 
it  by  the  court,  and  the  building  disposed  of  at  sheriff's  sale  Feb- 
ruary 19,   1870. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Rev.  Francis  Joseph  Rudolf  had  been 
appointed  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  by  the  Very  Rev.  Father  Corbe, 
and  the  new  pastor  set  diligently  to  work  to  raise  the  means  for 
putting  in  a  ceiling,  erecting  a  steeple  and  gallery,  securing  a  bell, 
raising  the  sanctuary  and  adding  necessary  furniture — the  debt  at 
this  time  amounting  to  $2,700.      In  1873  a  school  lot  was  added, 

~(429j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

a  school-building  erected,  and  the  Sisters  from  Oldenburg  began 
teaching,  and  all  things  moved  smoothly  on  until  1881,  when 
Father  Rudolf  was  transferred  to  Connersville,  and  Rev.  Joseph 
Torbeck  appointed  to  the  pastorate  of  St.  Joseph's.  The  school 
property  was  held  by  Father  Rudolf,  and  this  the  congregation 
purchased  from  him  on  the  advent  of  the  new  pastor.  In  1883,  a 
tract  of  land  was  purchased  for  a  cemetery.  In  1886,  Father  Tor- 
beck  was  transferred  to  New  Alsace,  Ind.,  and  Rev.  J.  A.  Kaelin 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  St.  Joseph  congregation. 

Up  to  this  date,  St.  Joseph's,  at  Shelbyville,  had  been 
attached  to  St.  Vincents,  Prescott,  Ind.,  as  a  mission,  but  now 
St.  Joseph's  was  created  a  parish  and  a  mission  at  Acton  attached. 
The  first  improvement  made  by  Father  Kaelin  was  a  parsonage.  A 
change  made  in  the  location  of  the  railroad  switch  at  Shelbyville 
proved  to  be  damaging  to  the  church  property,  and  a  piece  of  land 
was  added  to  the  church  grounds,  to  the  school  grounds  and  to  the 
parsonage  lot.  In  1895  ^^^  cemetery  was  abandoned,  and  very 
convenient  and  most  desirable  grounds,  on  the  very  edge  of  the 
town,  adjoining  Forest  Hill,  the  city  cemetery,  was  purchased  for 
$1,500.  These  grounds  comprise  five  acres,  and  on  October  31, 
1895,  the  deed  was  signed,  grading  immediately  commenced,  and 
the  work  of  disinterment  at  the  old,  and  re-interment  in  the  new 
cemetery  was  begun  December  14,  the  first  corpse  to  be  removed 
being  that  of  the  child  of  A.  Minster.  February  4,  1896,  the 
I  loth  and  the  last  corpse  was  transferred,  it  being  the  son  of 
Henry  Sander.  April  30,  1897,  a  monument,  twenty-live  feet  in 
height,  representing  the  crucifixion,  was  erected  at  the  new  cem- 
etery, facing  the  most  frequented  thoroughfare  entering  the  city. 
This  monument  is  of  Bedford  stone;  the  image  of  the  Savior  was 
carved  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  is  very  imposing  and  suggestive  to 
the  traveled  person  of  a  cemetery  outside  the  walls  of  an  old  city 
in  Italy  or  Spain. 

The  real  estate  of  the  parish,  however,  is  still  unsatisfactorily 
situated,  it  being  divided  by  an  alley  and  a  lot  between  the  church 
and  the  school  grounds.  The  project  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
church-building,  which  for  some  time  past  has  been  in  contempla- 
tion, cannot  therefore  be  consummated,  owing  to  this  unfortunate 

(430r 


IN    THE    STATl':    OI"    INDIANA. 

circumstance,  but  the   design  will    no  doubt    be  carried   out    in  the 
near  future. 

The  families  constituting  the  congregation  of  St.  Joseph,  at  the 
time  of  the  building  of  the  church  in  1867,  numbered  about  thirty- 
five;  they  now  number  175.  The  societies  to  the  church  com- 
prise St.  Ann's  Ladies'  Altar  society,  established  by  Rev.  J.  P. 
Gillig  in  1865;  the  Young  Ladies'  sodality  of  the  commandery  of 
Knights,  the  league  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  William  Tell  com- 
mandery of  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  No.  178  (the  latter  with  a 
membership  of  thirty),  and  all  in  flourishing  circumstances  and 
zealous  in  their  work. 

SHELDON,  ALLEN  COUNTY. 

St.  Aloysius'  Church  at  Sheldon  had  its  origin  about  1858, 
in  the  autumn  of  which  year  Rev.  Jacob  Mayer,  of  Decatur,  began 
visiting  the  scattered  Catholics  living  in  the  neighborhood.  He 
first  held  services  at  the  residence  of  Frederick  Weaver,  in  Pleas- 
ant township,  and  the  year  following  it  was  agreed  among  the 
faithful  that  a  small  church  should  be  erected.  The  Miller  and 
Harber  families,  pioneers  of  the  neighborhood,  took  upon  them- 
selves the  charge  of  building  a  structure  of  frame,  29x36  feet,  and 
Christian  Miller  donated  three  acres  of  land  for  church  purposes. 
In  1878  an  additional  acre  was  purchased  for  a  cemetery. 

Rev.  J.  Mayer  was  succeeded  as  pastor  of  this  mission  by 
Rev.  M.  Ivink,  and  he  by  Rev.  A.  L.  Meile,  and  then  followed 
Revs.  T.  Hibbelen,  \\'.  Woeste,  and  J.  Nussbaum.  During  the 
administration  of  the  last  named,  the  church  was  enlarged  and  a 
spire  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $1,500.  The  first  resident  pastor  was 
Rev.  F.  Koerdt,  who  took  charge  July  30,  1876.  decorated  the 
interior  of  the  church  and  also  paid  off  an  outstanding  debt  of 
$400.  October  17,  1876,  he  opened  a  school,  with  thirty-eight 
pupils,  in  a  little  frame  building,  and  in  1877  completed  a  pastoral 
residence  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  In  1882,  a  two-story  brick  school- 
house  was  erected,  also  at  a  cost  of  $4,000,  and  this  is  now 
attended  by  about  sixty  pupils,  under  charge  of  three  Sisters  of  St. 
Agnes.      July  23,   1896,  Rev.  F.    Koerdt   was   transferred   to   Fort 

"(481) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Wayne,  and  was   succeeded  at    Sheldon   by  the    Rev.  Rudolph  J. 
Denk,  the  present  accomplished  pastor. 

SHOALS,     MARTIN    COUNTY. 

The  history  of  Catholicity  at  Shoals  may  be  said  to  have 
begun  in  June,  1853,  when  Clement  J.  Horsey  deeded  lots  59,  60, 
61,  101,  102,  103,  104,  47  and  48,  to  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  as  a 
site  for  a  church.  At  least,  this  is  the  first  record  in  the  county 
that  concerns  Catholicity  in  the  town  of  Shoals,  which  was  then 
called  Memphis.  Mr.  Horsey  was  a  non-Catholic,  and  doubtless 
had  no  motive  in  making'  the  donation  other  than  the  hope  of 
financial  profit,  which  he  expected  to  reap  from  the  advanced 
price  at  which  he  would  be  enabled  to  sell  the  surrounding  land, 
most  of  which  he  then  owned,  if  a  church  were  built  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  in  this  hope  he  was  not  disappointed. 

Rev.  Father  Murphy  of  St.  Mary's  visited  the  place  about  this 
time,  and  it  was  he  who  collected  the  money  with  which  to  pay  for 
the  erection  of  the  first  church.  His  chief  contributors  were  per- 
sons who  were  employed  on  the  O.  &  M.  R.  R.,  which  was  then 
being  built,  and  these  same  people  largely  constituted  the  congre- 
gation as  first  organized  in  after  years.  Part  of  the  donated  lots 
were  sold  by  Father  Quinlan  for  the  purpose  of  buying  ground  for 
a  cemetery.  This  latter  is  just  northeast  of  the  town,  adjoining 
the  town   cemeter}'. 

In  1869  the  church  was  built  by  Rev.  L.  Gueguen  (then  at 
Loogootee).  Thomas  Hart,  a  Mr.  Kimmiling  (who  resided  at 
Shoals  temporarily),  and  Martin  Mohr  were  trustees  during  the 
building  of  the  church.  Thomas  Gormely  was  treasurer  for  a  time 
at  this  early  period,  and  Martin  Mohr,  who  was  a  stonemason, 
did  much  to  start  and  build  the  church.  Trustee  Thomas  Hart, 
whose  sons  are  substantial  aiders  of  the  church,  deserves  to  be 
mentioned.  In  fact,  all  the  Catholics  residing  here  were  willing 
helpers.  The  church  is  a  neat  brick,  60  x  30  feet,  and  is  under 
the  patronage  of  St.  Louis,  the  name  doubtless  being  proposed  by 
the  pastor,  because  of  his  own  Christian  name.  The  two-story 
frame  pastoral  residence  stands  on  two  lots  facing  the  church,  and 
was  built  by  Rev.  Father  Quinlan,  in  1878,  at  a  cost  of  only  $500; 

(432r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

a  record  made  by  him  shows  that  $95  of  this  amount  was  realized 
from  a  steamboat  excursion  on  the  river,  less  $5  paid  to  M.  Hayes 
for  advertising  in  two  Washington  papers. 

The  list  of  priests  who  attended  Shoals,  as  correctly  as  now 
can  be  determined  (for  no  records  exist  previous  to  1882),  is  as 
follows:  Revs.  J.  P.  Murphy,  Philip  Doyle,  J.  Mougin,  and  Rev. 
Kintrup,  who  attended  it  from  Mitchell.  In  1877  came  Rev. 
Michael  Ouinlan,  who  was  the  first  resident  pastor  and  who 
remained  until  1882.  For  brief  periods  it  was  attended  by  Fathers 
Sorrel  and  Burkhardt,  of  Washington,  and  Ginnsz,  of  St.  Mary's; 
Rev.  P.  R.  Fitzpatrick  was  there  from  1882  to  1887,  after  which 
it  was  served  for  about  one  year  by  Father  Slonie,  of  St.  Martin's. 
On  September  18,  1888,  Rev.  J.  P.  Byrne  took  charge,  also 
attended  the  missions  at  Salem  and  Mitchell  and  during  the  water- 
ing season  at  French  Lick.  It  may  be  said  his  coming  marked  a 
new  era  in  the  history  of  Catholicity  here.  He  caused  the  ceme- 
tery to  be  put  in  good  order,  the  church  painted  exteriorly  and 
neatly  papered  inside.  A  marble  plate,  with  the  name  of  the 
church  upon  it,  has  been  placed  over  the  door  and  a  neat  cross 
has  been  put  upon  the  belfry.  A  choir  has  been  organized  and  is 
making  good  progress,  and  the  residence  repaired  and  furnished. 
Around  the  church,  in  the  spacious  lot,  trees  were  set  out  by  Rich- 
ard Hiney.  The  altar,  a  neat  little  one,  is  Romanesque  in  style, 
and  was  put  in  by  Father  Fitzpatrick.  The  frame  sacristy  was 
added  by  Father  Ouinlan.  Here  Father  Fichter  also  did  good 
work  until  succeeded  by  Rev.  F.  W.  Wolf,  mention  of  whom  will 
be  found  elsewhere. 

SOUTH    BEND,    ST.    JOSEPH   COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  South  Bend,  is  attended  by  the  oldest 
Catholic  congregation  in  the  city,  which,  as  early  as  1842,  was 
attended  from  Notre  Dame  by  the  Revs.  Sorin,  Granger  and 
Cointet. 

September  14,  1852,  Very  Rev.  Edward  Sorin  purchased  from 
Samuel  Cottrell  and  his  wife,  Catherine,  lots  Nos.  124,  125  and 
126.  in  the  town  of  Lowell,  now  the  city  of  South  Bend,  for  the 
consideration  of   $250,  the  deed,  in   part,  providing  that  the  prop- 

~(433j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

erty  be  used  "for  the  benefit  of  the  CathoHc  school  of  St.  Joseph 
county,  Ind.,"  and  it  is  now  occupied  by  St.  Joseph's  parochial 
school,  the  location  being  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Water  and 
Hill  streets.  In  1853,  Father  Sorin  erected  on  this  property  a 
brick  structure,  22  x  40  feet,  for  church  purposes,  but  subsequently 
it  was  used  as  a  house  of  worship  and  a  school-house  for  girls  and 
small  boys.  Mass  was  read  each  Sunday  for  the  people  of  the 
town  and  neighborhood,  and  once  a  week  for  the  Sisters  and  their 
pupils,  the  regular  attending  pastors  being  Fathers  A.  Granger,  J. 
Bourget  and  Levique.  In  1859,  when  the  old  St.  Patrick's  chi  rch 
was  built,  the  spiritual  wants  of  St.  Joseph's  were  attended  to  by 
Rev.  Father  Carroll,  on  week  days,  he  being  at  the  same  time 
engaged  in  organizing  St.  Patrick's  congregation,  and  on  Sundays 
services  were  conducted,  in  turn,  by  Fathers  Bourget,  Carrier. 
Neyron,  Hartlang,  Lemonnier,  Doherty  and  L'Etourneau.  Up  to 
i860,  all  baptisms,  marriages,  burials,  etc.,  were  recorded  in  the 
churches  where  the  ceremonies  were  performed,  since  which  date 
these  records,  properly  belonging  to  St.  Joseph's,  have  been  kept 
by  this  church. 

In  1862,  a  frame  building,  18x26,  was  erected  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  South  Bend  avenue  and  Notre  Dame  street  for 
school  purposes,  and  in  September,  1866,  a  subscription  was  taken 
up  by  Rev.  J.  L.  L'Etourneau  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  new 
church,  the  result  being  that  three  lots  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
Water  and  Hill  streets  were  donated  by  Alexis  Coquillard,  and  a 
frame  church-building,  40x60  feet,  completed  in  November,  1868, 
at  a  cost  of  $1,385.76. 

Rev.  Julius  Frere  shortly  afterward  succeeded  Father 
L'Etourneau,  and  September  2,  1869,  gave  a  concert  in  Good's 
opera  house,  from  proceeds  of  which  he  built  a  sacristy  the  same 
month,  in  a  room  of  which  he  lived,  and  became,  in  fact,  the  first 
resident  pastor.  About  the  same  time  he  removed  the  frame 
school-house  from  the  hill  to  the  site  of  the  present  parochial  resi- 
dence. 

In  January,  1870,  Father  Frere  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  G. 
Demers,  who  of^ciated  until  the  eve  of  Christmas,  1872,  when  the 
church  and   priest's  house  burned  to  the  ground.      The  congrega- 

(434r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

ti(Hi  now  returned  for  services  to  their  primitive  chapel,  the  school 
children  were  sent  to  the  vSisters'  school,  and  the  school-house 
sold  for  a  private  dwelling. 

In  the  spring  of  1873,  Father  Demers  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Peter  Lauth,  who  at  once  attempted  a  monthly  collection  of  funds 
with  which  to  build  a  new  church,  but,  after  four  such  attempts, 
the  project  was  abandoned.  Finally,  the  Very  Rev.  Father  Sorin 
furnished  whatever  funds  were  necessary  beyond  the  amount  of 
the  insurance  money  of  the  old  church,  and  a  new  building,  60  x  30 
feet,  was  erected,  and  this  served  for  church,  school  and  residence 
purposes  until  1882. 

In  the  meanwhile,  in  1881,  the  above-named  property  was 
sold  to  the  Sisters  of  St.  Mary's  academy  for  a  hospital,  and  the 
corner-stone  of  the  present  church-edifice  laid  the  same  year,  on 
the  lot  formerly  occupied  by  the  old  church  which  had  been 
burned.  Its  dimensions  are  118x45  feet,  and  was  commenced 
by  Rev.  M.  P.  Fallize,  C.  S.  C,  the  then  pastor,  and  com- 
pleted in  August,  1882,  and  the  adjoining  house  was  rented  from 
Father  Sorin  for  a  parochial  residence.  It  had  been  the  intention 
to  put  u])  the  structure  with  funds  collected  through  yearly  sub- 
scriptions, voluntary  donations,  and  the  interest  derived  from 
$4,000,  which  sum  the  congregation  had  invested  in  the  Hill 
property;  but,  whatever  the  cost  might  have  been,  there  remained 
to  be  paid  eight  years  later  a  balance  of  $13,000.  In  1884,  a 
two-story  brick  building,  30x60  feet,  was  erected  on  the  church 
property,  to  serve  as  a  school  for  boys  and  as  a  hall  for  dramatic 
entertainments,  the  cost  of  the  building  being  about  $4,000;  but 
the  youth  of  east  South  Bend  were  not  ripe  enough  for  the  drama, 
the  school  was  not  self-supporting,  and,  in  1890,  the  congregation, 
tired  of  paying  both  interest  and  rent  for  the  priest's  house, 
returned  the  children  to  the  Sisters'  school  and  remodeled  the  hall 
for  a  home  for  the  pastor. 

During  these  years,  from  the  time  of  Father  Lauth  to  the 
present,  the  pastors  have  been  Revs.  J.  L.  L'Etourneau,  G.  De- 
mers, P.  Veniard,  M.  Robinson,  P.  Franciscus,  M.  Fallize,  and 
the  present   able   N.  J.  Stoffel.      The  congregation   numbers  about 


(435) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

250  families,  and  is  comprised  of  English,  French  and  German- 
speaking  people. 

St.  Patrick's  Church,  South  Bend,  was  organized  in  1858  by 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Carroll,  C.  S.  C,  there  being  then  about  fifty 
Irish  Catholic  families  in  the  town.  In  1859  Father  Carroll  erected 
a  small  brick  church,  60x30  feet,  and  the  same  year  this 
was  deeded  to  the  Right  Rev.  J.  H.  Luers,  bishop  of  Fort  \\^ayne, 
the  people  being  too  poor  to  pay  for  it,  but  Father  Carroll  made  a 
trip  to  New  Orleans,  La.,  where  he  soon  collected  sufficient  money 
to  pay  off  the  entire  debt.  Rev.  Joseph  C.  Carrier  offtciating  during 
the  interval.  Father  Carroll  continued  as  pastor  until  1864,  when 
Father  Carrier  again  attended  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  congre- 
gation until  early  in  1865,  when  Rev.  William  Corby  took  charge 
for  a  few  months,  during  which  time  he  completed  the  priest's 
residence,  which  had  been  begun  by  Father  Carroll. 

November  18,  1865,  Rev.  P.  P.  Cooney  became  the  first  resi- 
dent priest.  During  his  pastorate  he  added  thirty-six  feet  to  the 
church-building,  also  a  wing,  50x32  feet,  which  was  used  as  a 
school-room  for  boys.  This  wing  was  separated  from  the  body  of 
the  church  by  folding-doors,  which,  when  opened,  made  one  room 
of  the  two  rooms  and  formed  for  the  church  the  largest  auditorium 
at  that  time  in  South  Bend.  Father  Cooney  also  established  sev- 
eral societies  for  the  young  and  adult  members  of  the  parish  and 
did  much  other  commendable  work.  In  1866  a  school-house  for 
girls  was  erected  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  and  is  still  flour- 
ishing under  their  wise  direction. 

March  12,  1871,  Father  Cooney  was  withdrawn  and  Rev.  D. 
J.  Spillard  appointed  pastor.  Father  Spillard  in  1872  built  a  two- 
story  frame  school-house  for  boys,  continued  as  pastor  until  April, 
1874,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William  O'Mahony,  who,  in 
January,  1876,  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  John  Lauth,  and  he,  in 
December  of  the  same  year,  by  his  brother,  Rev.  Peter  Lauth, 
who  officiated  until  August,  1880,  when  Rev.  D.  J.  Hagerty  was 
appointed  pastor.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Joseph  Dwenger  gave  the  Germans  permission  to  have  separate 
services  on  Sunday  and  latei"  to  build  a  church   of  their  own   (St. 

(iMT 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol-    INDIANA. 

Mary's),  an  account  of  which  is  given  on  another  page  of  this 
volume.  High  mass  was  celebrated  every  Sunday  morning  at  nine 
o'clock  in  St.  Patrick's,  the  sermon  in  German  being  preached  by 
Rev.  P.  M.  Kolopp,  at  that  time  the  assistant  priest.  While  the 
Germans  held  their  services  here  they  rented  the  pews  and  had  full 
use  of  all  the  revenues  therefrom.  The  corner-stone  of  a  new  church 
was  laid  in  May,  1886,  the  edifice  dedicated  June  2,  1889,  and  in 
January,   1891,  Rev.  D.  J.  Spillard  was  appointed  pastor. 

In  August,  1893,  the  present  very  able  pastor,  Rev.  J.  W. 
Clarke,  C.  S.  C.,  was  appointed  to  St.  Patrick's.  Shortly  after- 
ward he  purchased  a  piece  of  land  adjoining  the  school-house  for 
$2,500 — a  most  desirable  purchase,  as  the  land  affords  an  ample 
play-ground  for  the  children.  The  school  is  taught  by  two  Brothers 
and  two  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  from  St.  Joseph's  academy  and 
two  lay  teachers.  The  total  number  of  pupils  is  about  489  and  of 
these  the  girls,  130  in  number,  are  taught  in  the  academy.  The 
congregation  numbers  about  200  families  and,  in  addition  to  these, 
Father  Clarke  has  charge  of  two  stations — Crum's  Point  and  Lake- 
ville,  St.  Joseph  county.  vSeveral  societies  are  connected  with  the 
church,  viz:  St.  Joseph's  T.  A.  B.  society,  Temperance  Cadets, 
the  Living  Rosary,  the  Arch  Confraternity  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus  and  the  Children  of  Mary  and  St.  Aloysius  society.  Father 
Clarke  has  indeed  proved  to  be  an  indefatigable  worker  and  is  truly 
beloved  by  his  flock. 

St.  Mary's  Church,  South  Bend. — The  congregation  of  this 
church  was  formed  from  that  of  St.  Patrick  in  September,  1881, 
by  the  Rev.  Father  Kolopp,  who,  beside  being  assistant  at  St. 
Patrick's,  had  a  supervision  of  the  few  German  families  who  then 
•  constituted  the  nucleus  of  the  present  St.  Mary's  parish.  Febru- 
ary 3,  1882,  Rev.  Peter  Johannes,  C.  S.  C,  was  appointed  pastor, 
and  at  that  time  the  congregation  comprised  about  fifty  families. 
The  energetic  and  devoted  priest  worked  hard  for  the  improvement 
of  his  flock  and  the  welfare  of  the  parish,  and  in  1883,  aided  by 
his  faithful  people,  erected  a  neat  frame  house  of  worship,  which 
is  now  attended  by  about  130  families. 

In  1884  a  school-house   was  completed   and  opened   in  Jan- 

"(437) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

uary.  with  an  attendance  of  twenty-seven  pupils,  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  one  lay  teacher,  but  in  1891  this  building  was  enlarged, 
and  in  January,  1895,  210  pupils  were  in  attendance,  undercharge 
of  four  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  from  Assumption  academy.  The 
present  attendance  is  about  250,  with  teachers  as  before  men- 
tioned. 

St.  Hedwig's  Church,  South  Bend. — The  Polish  Catholics  of 
South  Bend  worshiped  in  the  old  St.  Patrick's  edifice  -until  1877 
and  formed  part  of  St.  Patrick's  congregation,  but,  in  the  year 
named,  erected  a  small  frame  church  for  their  separate  use.  This 
building  was  demolished  by  a  wind-storm  in  1879,  but  the  congre- 
gation immediately  set  to  work  to  erect  a  more  commodious  and 
substantial  church-edifice,  and  during  the  process  of  its  erection 
again  worshiped  at  St.  Patrick's.  In  1883  the  building  was  com- 
pleted by  Rev.  Valentine  Czyzewski,  the  present  efficient  pastor, 
who  has  labored  zealously  and  faithfully  to  advance  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  his  countrymen  and  to  improve  their  temporal  con- 
dition. 

In  1884  a  brick  school-house  was  erected — the  largest  in  the 
city — the  number  of  pupils  attending  amounting  to  860.  These 
are  instructed  by  three  Brothers  and  five  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
and  three  male  lay  teachers.  The  personnel  of  the  church  may  be 
mentioned  as  Rev.  Valentine  Czyzewski,  C.  S.  C,  pastor;  Revs. 
Anthony  Zubowitez  and  C.  Truczynski,  assistants,  and  Brothers 
Stanislaus,  Robert  and  Adelbert,  teachers.  Attached  to  the  church 
also  is  the  mission  of  St.  Dominic,  at  Bremen,  Marshall  county. 
Although  the  congregation  at  St.  Hedwig's,  in  1877,  numbered  125 
families  only,  it  now  numbers  at  least  850  families — an  enormous 
increase — due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  indefatigable  labor  and  zeal 
of  the  pious  and  learned  pastor.  Rev.  Valentine  Czyzewski,  who  is 
greatly  reverenced  and  beloved  by  his  own  people  and  held  in  high 
respect  by  the  general  public  of  South  Bend  and  the  surrounding 
country. 

SUMMIT,  DEKALH  COUNTY. 

St.  Michael's  Church,  at  Summit,  was  organized,  in  1880,  by 
Rev.  Augustus  Young,  and   was  dedicated    by  Right   Rev.  Bishop 

("438) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Joseph  Dwenger,  the  congregation  at  that  time  numbering  about 
forty  families.  This  congregation  was  attended  as  a  mission  from 
Auburn  until  1882,  when  Rev.  P.  Fransen  was  appointed  resident 
priest,  whose  death  occurred  within  a  year.  Summit  then  again 
became  a  mission  of  Auburn  until  1884,  under  Rev.  M.  Benzinger, 
who  remained  until  1897,  when  he  was  followed  by  Rev.  Hermann 
Jurascheck,  the  present  revered  pastor. 

The  church  grounds  embrace  about  one  acre  of  ground,  and  the 
church-building,  which  was  erected  in  1880,  by  Father  Young,  at  a 
cost  of  $2,000,  measures  30  x  66  feet — being  somewhat  enlarged 
beyond  its  original  dimensions.  In  1888  the  church-building  at 
Waterloo  was  moved  to  Summit  and  is  now  used  as  a  hall,  and  the 
Catholics  of  that  parish  worship  at  St.  Michael's. 

TELL    CITY,     PERRY    COUNTY. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Tell  City,  was  founded  and  laid  out  by  a 
Swiss  colonization  society,  in  1858.  Tell  City  is  located  on  the 
Ohio  river,  three  miles  from  Cannelton  and  four  miles  from  Troy, 
and  has  about  2,500  inhabitants  St.  Paul's  congregation  was 
organized  in  1859,  and  comprised  then  about  twenty-five  families. 
It  was  first  attended  by  Rev.  M.  Marendt,  of  Cannelton,  until 
January,  1861.  From  January  to  June,  1861,  it  was  visited  by 
Rev.  J.  B.  Merl,  also  of  Cannelton;  then  by  Rev.  J.  P.  Dion,  of 
Cannelton;  the  Benedictine  Fathers,  of  St.  Meinrad;  Rev.  J. 
Kauffman  and  Rev.  F.  Friedinger,  of  Troy.  Rev.  Ferdinand 
Hundt  was  the  first  resident  pastor,  from  May  until  December, 
1863,  when  it  was  again  attended  by  the  Benedictine  Fathers 
until  1867.  In  1867  Rev.  J.  A.  Michael  was  appointed  (second) 
resident  pastor,  and  remained  such  until  May  i,  1877,  when  Rev. 
Edward  Faller  became  the  pastor  at  Cannelton,  and,  jointly  with 
Rev.  P.  Conrad  Ackermann,  O.  S.  B.,  of  Troy,  regularly  attended 
Tell  City.  On  the  28th  of  October.  1878,  Father  Faller  took  up 
his  residence  at  Tell  City. 

The  first  Catholic  church  in  Tell  City,  a  frame  building  50  x  20 
feet,  was  built  in  1859,  on  Eighth  street,  lot  and  church  costing 
$900.  Father  Marendt  was  then  the  visiting  pastor.  In  1870  a 
new  brick  church  was  begun  on  two  new  lots  on  the  same  street, 

~(439j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  lots,  with  a  frame  dwelHng  on  them,  costing  $800.  The  old 
church  and  lot  were  then  sold  for  $425.  In  the  same  year  the 
foundation  was  built  and  the  corner-stone  laid  by  the  Rev.  P. 
Bade  O'Connor,  O.  S.  B.,  chancellor  of  the  diocese.  The  church 
was  under  roof  in  1873.  The  work  remained  in  that  condition 
until  Father  Faller,  in  1877,  had  the  towers  finished,  the  spires 
built,  and  the  interior  plastered.  The  church  is  114x48  feet  in 
dimensions,  with  forty  feet  in  the  clear  in  height  on  the  inside. 
The  height  of  the  two  spires  is  134  feet.  The  building  is  in  the 
Byzantine  arched  style.  The  cost  of  the  church  was  $16,672. 
Other  purchases  of  ground  were  made,  so  that  the  lot  has  a  front- 
age of  160  feet,  with  a  depth  of  140.  The  brick  parsonage  on 
the  south,  and  the  brick  school-house,  50  x  25  feet,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  church,  were  both  built  in  1878,  at  a  cost  of  $4,172. 
The  sisters  of  St.  Francis  conduct  the  school.  The  Way  of  the 
Cross,  costing  $340;  the  three  new  bells,  costing  $567;  the  tower 
clock,  costing  $700;  and  a  new  main  altar,  costing  $1,164,  were 
all  provided  in  1878.  The  entire  church  property  has  cost  $26,290. 
In  1879  the  congregation  numbered  only  seventy  families.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  tell  the  reader  that  Father  Faller  had  personal 
means  to  do  the  work  he  accomplished. 

The  school  was  opened  on  September  i,  1878,  with  ninety- 
five  children.  Father  Faller  departed  from  Tell  City,  in  1882, 
having  accomplished  much  more  than  is  recorded  here.  He  was 
appointed  pastor  at  St.  Michael's,  in  Madison,  to  continue  the 
good  work.  The  Rev.  James  Hilbert  next  had  charge  of  St. 
Paul's  church.  Tell  City,  and  Rev.  William  F.  Seibertz  is  the 
present  pasior. 

TERRE  HAUTE,  VIGO  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph  was  the  first  parish  organized  in  Terre  Haute,  and 
Rev.  S.  P.  Lalumiere  was  the  first  resident  pastor,  as  he  took 
charge  in  1842,  from  which  time  the  history  of  the  parish  proper 
begins.  Of  course,  Terre  Haute  was  a  mission  station  for  many 
years  previously,  divine  services  being  held  repeatedly  for  the 
Catholics  there  as  early  as  1835,  and  quite  regularly  from  1837  to 
1842,  Rev.  Father^Buteux  coming  from  St.  Mary's  for  that  pur- 
pose. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

The  first  St.  Joseph's  church  is  said  to  have  been  built  by 
Father  Buteu.x,  perhaps  in  1837  or  1838.  It  was  then  a  mission 
attended  from  St.  Mary's,  Vigo  county.  Father  Lalumiere  made 
an  addition  to  the  structure,  and  Father  Chasse  enlarged  and  orna- 
mented it  with  a  new  front  and  steeple. 

Rev.  Father  Lalumiere  ministered  to  the  people  until  his 
death,  which  took  place  on  the  9th  of  June,  1857.  He  was  born 
at  Vincennes  in  1804,  and  at  one  time  was  the  only  priest  Bishop 
Brute  had  in  his  large  diocese,  which  then  comprised  the  whole 
state  of  Indiana  and  a  portion  of  Illinois.  H's  remains  are  buried 
in  St.  Joseph's  church  and  a  marble  slab  in  his  memory  is  set  up 
near  the  Blessed  Virgin's  altar,  bearing  a  fitting  inscription. 

The  records  of  the  parish  show  that  St.  Joseph's  was  presided 
over  by  Jesuit  Fathers  from  the  death  of  Father  Lalumiere  until  the 
arrival  of  Rev.  P.  Bede  O'Connor,  O.  S.  B.,  in  1859.  These  Jesuits 
were  Rev.  Father  di  Maria,  1857-58,  and  Rev.  Father  Lutz,  1859. 
Rev.  O'Connor  was  next  in  charge  of  the  parish  about  seven  years, 
or  until  1866,  when  he  was  sent  to  Vincennes.  During  a  part  of 
the  time  he  was  assisted  by  four  other  fathers  of  his  order.  Revs. 
Fintan,  Martin,  Chrysostome  and  Meinrad.  A  college  which  they 
conducted  for  a  few  years  proving  successful,  they  resigned  and 
left  the  place  after  the  removal  of  Father  O'Connor. 

Rev.  P.  Bede  O'Connor  was  born  in  London,  in  1826,  of  Irish 
parents.  He  was  educated  in  the  famous  Benedictine  monastery 
at  Einsiedeln,  made  his  vows  in  1847,  and  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  in  1852.  He  served  as  secretary  to  Bishop  de  St.  Palais, 
as  chancellor  of  the  diocese,  and  in  1870  was  appointed  vicar- 
general.      He  died  at  Terre  Haute,  September  25,  1875. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Chasse  succeeded  Father  O'Connor  and  remained 
until  1872.  Very  Rev.  H.  Alerding,  later  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's 
church,  Indianapolis,  and  author  of  the  History  of  the  Diocese  of 
Vincennes,  was  Father  Chasse's  assistant  for  two  5 ears  and  nine 
months. 

The  Franciscan  Fathers  (O.  M.  C.)  took  charge  of  St  Joseph's 
in  1872.  Of  these.  Rev.  Jno.  Kroeger  was  the  first.  Rev.  L. 
Moczigemba  was  the  second;  came  in  1873,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Jos.  Lessen  during  1875-6.      Rev.  F.  Neubaur  came  in  1877; 

27  (441) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Rev.  D.  Marzetti  in  1878-9;  in  1880,  Very  Rev.  M.  C.  McEvoy, 
O.  M.  C,  became  pastor.  He  came  as  assistant  to  Father  Kroeger 
in  1872.  Rev.  Joseph  J.  Frewin,  Father  McEvoy's  assistant  for 
nine  years,  came  in  1883,  and  about  1891  became  pastor. 

St.  Joseph's  church  is  a   brick   structure,    45x110   feet,    with 
stained  glass  windows,  a  good  organ,  and  beautiful  altars  and  fur- 
niture.     It  fronts  on  Fifth  street,  and  stands  on  the  center   of  the 
parish  grounds,  which  occupy  a  half-block.      South   of  the  church 
stands  the  brick  school   for   girls,  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  Provi- 
dence.    There  are  nine  Sisters  and  115  girls  in  attendance.    North 
of  the  church,  on  the  corner  of  Ohio  street,  is  a  splendid  new  brick 
schools  for  boys.      This  building,    the  corner-stone   of   which  was 
laid  by  the  Rt.  Rev.    Mgr.    Bessonies,    cost  $12,500.      It   has  the 
latest  improvements,  is  of  excellent  design,  and  is   abreast  of   the 
best  schools  in  Terre  Haute.      The  top  floor  is  used  for  an  exhibi- 
tion hall,  while  the  basement  is  used,  part  for   meeting   rooms   for 
the  parish  societies,  and  the  remainder  for  play  rooms  for  the  boys 
during  the  inclement   season.      The  new   school   and  grounds   are 
valued  at  $65,000;  the  church  and  grounds  are  worth  $50,000,  and 
altogether  St.  Joseph's  is,  being  the  mother  church  in  Terre  Haute, 
the  most  valuable   in    memories    and    also    in   dollars  and   cents. 
Including  the  pastoral  residence,  the  church  and  school  property 
is  worth  the  large  sum  of  $125,000. 

There  are  204  families  in  the  congregation,  with  about  200 
children  attending  the  parish  schools.  The  choir  is  a  good  one, 
the  trustees  efficient  men,  and  the  business  of  the  parish  is  well  in 
hand. 

Very  Rev.  M.  C.  McEvoy,  O.  M.  C. ,  one  of  the  popular  and 
efficient  pastors  of  St.  Joseph's,  was  a  native  of  the  county  of 
Wexford,  Ireland,  and  a  splendid  specimen  of  the  clear-skinned, 
dark-haired  Celt.  He  began  his  studies  for  the  church  in  Ireland, 
and  continued  them  on  the  island  of  Malta,  in  the  Mediterranean 
sea;  at  Cherso,  an  island  in  the  Adriatic  sea;  at  Wurzburg, 
Bavaria;  in  Germany,  in  Holland,  and  at  Rome.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1869,  continued  his  studies  at  the  Franciscan 
college  at  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  and  on  September  29,  1871,  at  Albany, 
in  that  state,  he  was  ordained  priest  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Con- 


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IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

roy.  His  first  mission  was  at  Trenton,  X.  J.,  where  he  remained 
about  a  year.  In  1872  he  was  transferred  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  and 
in  June  of  that  year  he  was  sent  as  assistant  to  Leather  Kroe^^er, 
who  was  the  first  Franciscan  priest  to  take  charge  of  St.  Joseph's 
parish.  Afterward  Father  McEvoy  continued  at  his  post  of  duty 
as  assistant  until   1880,  until  he  became  pastor  in  charge. 

Father  McEvoy  was  deservedly  popular  with  all  classes  in 
Terra  Haute,  and  this  fact  was  made  manifest  when  a  report  that 
he  was  to  be  transferred  to  Rome  called  forth  a  lengthy  petition, 
signed  by  all  classes  of  people  of  Terre  Haute,  requesting  the  revo- 
cation of  the  order  by  his  superior.  He  was  affable  and  jolly  and 
exteriorly  was  anything  but  a  monk;  yet,  through  his  affability  and 
approachableness  could  be  seen  his  deep  humility,  just  as  through 
his  limpid  mirthfulness  could  be  easily  preceived  his  fervor,  devot- 
edness  and  solid  piety.  On  account  of  his  extensive  travels  and 
by  study  he  had  acquainted  himself  with  more  than  six  languages, 
most  of  which  he  spoke  fluently.  He  did  not  aspire  to  great 
eloquence  in  the  pulpit,  but  could  lay  claim  to  plain  speaking 
and  forcefulness.  He  handled  the  material  and  all  the  monetary 
affairs  of  his  parish  very  capably.  He  knew  well  how  to  raise 
funds,  and  was  not  lacking  in  ability  to  judiciously  expend  them. 
His  people  were  impressed  with  these  facts,  hence  his  appeals  to 
them  were  never  without  generous  response. 

The  assistant  priest  during  Father  McEvoy's  time  was  Rev.  J. 
J.  Frewin,  O.  M.  C,  who  succeeded  to  the  pastorate,  and  whose 
life  sketch  will  be  found  in  \o\.  H,  of  this  work.  The  present 
pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  parish  is  Father  Francis  Lehner,  who  has 
been  with  the  church  since  the  28th  of  July,   1898. 

St.  Benedict's  Church. — On  the  17th  of  January,  1864,  the 
feast  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus,  the  German  Catholics  of  Terre 
Haute,  in  compliance  with  the  desire  and  invitation  of  their  pastor, 
assembled  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  feasibility  of  buildin^- 
a  church  of  their  own.  Up  to  this  time  the  German-speaking 
Catholics  frequented  St.  Joseph's  church  on  South  Fifth  street, 
which  was  in  charge  of  the  Benedictine  Fathers.  Thirteen  gentle- 
men heeded  the  above  invitation,  with  Rev.  Father  Martin  Marty. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

O.  S.  B.,  at  their  head.      Notwithstanding  this  small  number,  they 
were  not  discouraged,  and  it  was  resolved   that  each  man  present^ 
should  exert  himself  to  bring  other  German  Catholics  to  the  espousal 
of  this  noble  cause  and  in  the  meantime  consult  with  carpenters  as 
to  the  cost  of  a  small  church. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  January  31,  1864,  with  an  increase 
of  four  members.  At  this  meeting  several  plots  of  ground  were 
proposed,  but,  not  having  sufficient  information  concerning  them, 
nothing  definite  was  arrived  at. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  another  meeting  was  held,  the  Rev. 
Fintan  Mundwiler,  O.  S.  B.,  presiding.  At  this  meeting  arrange- 
ments were  made  to  purchase  the  present  piece  of  property  and 
erect  upon  it  a  church,  school  and  parochial  residence,  in  which 
later  on  they  succeeded. 

St.  Boniface's  Building  society  was  organized  June  5.  This 
society  took  great  interest  in  so  important  a  matter  and  God  blessed 
its  efforts  and  zeal,  for  in  a  short  time,  October  2,  1864,  on  the 
feast  of  the  Holy  Rosary,  the  corner-stone  for  St.  Benedict's  church 
was  laid,  and  in  the  following  year  (1865)  the  edifice  was  formally 
dedicated  to  the  services  of  God.  Also  a  school  and  parochial 
residence  were  erected  shortly  after.  Thus  the  German-speaking 
Catholics  of  Terre  Haute  acquired  their  own  church,  school  and 
rectory,  a  reward  of  the  untiring  zeal  of  the  Benedictine  Fathers 
and  of  their  own  efforts  and  energy. 

The  Benedictine  Fathers  at  this  time  still  lived  at  the  rectory 
of  St.  Josephs  church.  South  Fifth  street,  and  continued  yet  for  a 
short  time  to  administer  the  affairs  of  St.  Benedict's  church,  when 
Rev.  Casper  Doebbener  was  appointed  its  pastor  in  December, 
1865,  and  continued  in  his  position  until  January,  1867. 

In  April,  1867,  the  Rev.  Edward  Faller  took  charge  of  the 
congregation  ;  he,  having  means  of  his  own,  spent  considerable  on 
the  church  and  property.  His  successor  was  Rev.  N.  Gaellweiler, 
who  was  pastor  of  the  church  from  March,  1871,  to  February,  1872. 
The  next  to  take  charge  of  St.  Benedict's  church  were  the 
Franciscan  Fathers,  of  the  Order  of  Minor  Conventuals,  whose 
motherhouse  and  novitiate  are  located  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  The 
first  Franciscan  who  arrived  here  was  Rev.    Pius  Kotterer,  O.  M. 

(448) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

C.  Under  his  direction  the  congregation  remained  from  March, 
1872,  to  October,  1877.  During  his  administration  the  church  and 
school  were  enlarged. 

Rev.  Father  Conrad  Elison,  O.  M.  C,  was  the  successor  and 
continued  to  administer  from  October,  1877,  to  January,  1880, 
when,  on  account  of  ill-health,  he  was  obliged  to  resign  his  posi- 
tion. For  the  same  reason  his  successor.  Rev.  Fidelis  M.  Voight, 
O.  M.  C,  resigned  in  July,  1880.  For  a  longer  period  Rev. 
Clemens  Luitz,  O.  M.  C,  held  the  position  of  pastor  of  the  con- 
gregation, viz:  From  July,  1880,  to  November,  1883.  Rev. 
Maritius  Bierl,  O.  M.  C,  followed  and  continued  the  administra- 
tion until  April,  1885.  when  Rev.  Avelinus  Szabo,  O.  M.  C,  was 
appointed  and  remained  in  charge  until  November,  1886.  Rev. 
Bonaventure  Zoller,  O.  M.  C. ,  was  appointed  as  next  pastor  and 
remained  in  charge  from  November,  1886,  to  January,  1889.  It 
was  during  his  administration  that  the  handsome  school-house, 
corner  of  Ninth  and  Walnut  streets,  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  $26,000, 
the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  June  12,  1887.  The  following 
gentlemen  constituted  the  building  committee:  Messrs.  Herman 
Hulman,  Sr. ,  Franz  Prox,  John  F.  Brinkman  and  Joseph  Frisz. 
Not  less  than  200  children,  under  the  direction  of  the  Sisters  of 
Providence,  receive  careful  instruction  in  the  English  and  German 
languages.  The  school  is  considered  the  finest  parochial  school 
in  the  city,  and  is  another  monument  to  the  energy  and  zeal  of 
the  German  Catholics  of  Terre  Haute. 

The  successor  of  Rev.  B.  Zoller,  O.  M.  C,  was  Rev.  Leonard 
Reich,  O.  M.  C,  born  in  Bavaria,  April  17,  1847.  He  made  his 
classical  and  theological  studies  principally  at  the  university  of 
Wurzburg,  Bavaria,  was  received  into  the  Order  of  Minor  Con- 
ventuals of  St.  Francis,  made  his  profession  August  2,  1873.  and 
on  the  31st  of  the  same  month  and  year  was  ordained  to  the 
priesthood.  Having  faithfully  discharged  the  office  of  guardian  of 
the  convents  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y. ,  and  Utica,  N.  Y. ,  and  of  assist- 
ant provincial,  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Benedict's  church, 
in  which  capacity  he  remained  from  January,  1889,  to  November 
20,  1892. 

His  successor  was  the   Rev.    Peter  W.  Scharoun,    O.  M.  C, 

(449) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  present  pastor  of  the  church.  He  received  his  appointment 
November  12,  1892.  Having  settled  and  closed  the  accounts  and 
books  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's  church,  Camden,  N.  J.,  and 
preached  a  farewell  sermon  to  his  congregation,  of  which  he  was 
three  years  pastor,  he  made  preparations  for  his  journey  to  Tcrre 
Haute,  his  new  field  of  labor. 

The  necessity  for  a  more  spacious  church  had  been  apparent 
for  some  years.  Notwithstanding  that  the  members  of  the  con- 
gregation were  willing  to  subscribe  liberally  for  this  purpose,  the 
undertaking,  owing  to  hard  times,  had  to  be  postponed.  When 
the  prospects  were  apparently  more  encouraging,  a  church  fair 
was  held  for  one  week,  beginning  on  the  evening  of  November  4, 
1895.  The  net  proceeds,  $4,050.93,  were  very  encouraging,  and 
were  set  aside  as  a  building  fund.  After  mature  deliberation,  the 
pastor  called  a  meeting  for  December  3,  1895,  of  the  following 
gentlemen:  Messrs.  Herman  Hulman,  Sr. ,  Franz  Pro.x,  John  F. 
Brinkman,  Joseph  Frisz,  Sr.,  Ernst  Bleemel,  John  Dommerschau- 
sen,  Anton  Haring  and  August  Fuchs.  The  meeting  was  very 
enthusiastic  and  all  present  unanimously  concurred  in  the  opinion 
that  a  new  church  was  a  necessitv.  It  was  decided  to  build  after 
the  Romanesque  style  of  architecture.  At  this  meeting  a  building 
committee  of  the  above  gentlemen  was  formed  with  the  following 
permanent  officers:  H.  Hulman,  president;  J.  Frisz,  vice-presi- 
dent; J.  F.  Brinkman,  treasurer,  and  Rev.  P.  W.  Scharoun,  secre- 
tary. 

Some  few  days  after,  when  the  building  committee  was  anxious 
to  begin  work  earnestly,  an  unwelcome  visitor  arrived  at  the  paro- 
chial residence  in  the  form  of  illness.  Father  Scharoun  was  stricken 
seriously  and  was  obliged  to  put  himself  under  the  care  of  his  phy- 
sician, and,  in  consequence,  all  progress  was  retarded  until  March 
10,  1896,  when  the  pastor's  condition  was  so  far  improved  that  he 
was  able  to  call  the  committee  to  his  residence  for  further  consulta- 
tion. At  this  meeting  it  was  decided  that  a  committee  of  three, 
consisting  of  the  pastor,  H.  Hulman  and  A.  Haring.  be  appointed 
to  visit  and  inspect  churches  in  large  neighboring  cities  and  gather 
such  information  and  ideas  that  would  enable  them  to  proceed 
intelligently  in  the  building  of   the  new  church.      When  the  day 

(ISOT 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

(March  i6)  for  departure  had  arrived  the  reverend  pastor's  condi- 
tion and  strength  were  not  sufficient!}-  restored  to  undertake  the 
journey,  hence  J.  Frisz  was  appointed  as  a  third  member  of  this 
committee.  These  gentlemen  went  to  Ouincy,  111.,  thence  to  Chi- 
cago, 111.,  where  they  visited  many  churches  and  made  the  per- 
sonal acciuaiiitance  of  A.  Druiding,  architect.  Having  seen  several 
churches  which  had  been  built  under  his  supervision,  they  made 
known  to  him  their  errand.  Having  returned  home,  they  reported 
to  the  pastor,  who  called  a  meeting  of  the  entire  committee  for 
March  31,  at  which  it  was  definitely  decided  to  erect  a  new  church, 
with  two  front  towers  and  cupola  over  the  transept,  and  that  A. 
Druiding  be  engaged  to  make  plans,  drawings  and  specifications 
for  the  same;  it  was  furthermore  decided  to  begin  work  at  once, 
with  removal  of  the  old  church  The  altars,  confessional,  pipe- 
organ  and  all  other  church  furniture  were  removed  from  the  old 
church  to  the  school  hall,  where  divine  services  were  held  during 
the  erection  of  the  new  church.  The  work  of  tearing  down  the 
old  church  was  commenced  April  27;  the  corner-stone  was  discov- 
ered in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  foundation  the  6th  day  of  May. 
It  contained  a  brass  medal  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  B.  V. 
M. .  a  picture  of  St.  Benedict  and  a  nickel  cent  dated  1862.  The 
document  was  in  a  poor  state  of  preservation  and  had  fallen  to 
pieces,  so  that  the  writing  could  not  be  deciphered.  June  10,  1896. 
all  plans,  details  and  specifications  for  the  new  church  were  received. 
The  pastor  and  building  committee  examined  and  criticized  them 
thoroughly  and  accepted  them,  subject  to  some  changes.  Mr.  Hul- 
man,  imbued  with  genuine  Catholic  spirit  and  zeal  for  the  new 
house  of  worship,  went  to  Chicago  to  consult  with  the  architect 
concerning  these  changes,  also,  in  company  with  the  pastor,  visited 
other  cities,  such  as  South  Bend,  Fort  Wayne,  etc.,  to  gather  other 
useful  information  and  ideas.  June  25  the  building  committee 
assembled  to  open  the  different  bids  of  contractors.  The  lowest 
bid  was  that  of  P.  M.  McCormack,  of  Columbus,  Ind.  The  gen- 
eral contract  was  therefore  awarded  to  him.  The  cut- stone  con- 
tract was  awarded  to  E.  J.  Edwards  &  Ward,  of  Chicago,  111. 
July  21  the  work  of  excavation  was  commenced,  the  reverend  pas- 
tor  throwing  out  the  first  shovel   of  ground  from  the  spot  over 

1451) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

which  the  high  altar  was  to  be  erected.  After  a  bed  eighteen' 
inches  deep  of  concrete  had  been  deposited  in  the  trenches  the  rev- 
erend pastor,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Hulman,  laid  the  first 
stone  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  foundation,  August  lo;  work 
was  then  continued  by  the  contractor  and  progressed  satisfactorily. 
On  the  23d  day  of  September,  1896,  a  joint  meeting  of  the  officials 
of  all  the  Catholic  societies  of  the  city  was  held  in  St.  Benedict's- 
school  in  order  to  make  arrangements  for  a  parade  on  the  day  of 
the  corner-stone  laying. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  October  4,  1896,  it  being  the  feast  of 
the  Holy  Rosary  and  that  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  founder  of 
the  Franciscan  order,  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Benedict's  new 
church  was  blessed  and  laid  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Cha- 
tard,  D.  D..  bishop  of  \'incennes. 

Previous  to  the  ceremonies  there  was  an  immense  street 
parade,  headed  by  a  platoon  of  police  and  two  brass  bands. 
Having  marched  through  some  of  the  principal  streets  of  the 
city,  the  line  of  march  was  next  directed  to  the  Union  depot  to 
meet  the  right  reverend  bishop  and  escort  him  to  the  new  church; 
at  2:45  P-  ^'-  his  lordship  arrived,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  soci- 
eties began  their  return  march  toward  the  church  in  the  following 
order: 

Platoon  of  police  in  command  of  Capt.  Charles  Hyland; 
grand  marshal  and  aids;  Ringgold  brass  band;  St.  Francis'  soci- 
ety of  St.  Benedict's  church;  Hibernian  Benevolent  society;  St. 
Joseph's  Temperance  society;  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  of 
Vigo  county,  divisions  Nos.  i,  2,  3  and  4;  Catholic  Knights; 
Oriental  brass  band;  Young  Men's  institute;  St.  Patrick's  Young 
Men  society;  Young  Men's  Literary  union  of  St.  Joseph's  church; 
St.  Anthony's  Young  Men's  society  of  St.  Benedict's  church,  who 
formed  the  escort  for  the  right  reverend  bishop;  the  right  reverend 
bishop's  carriage,  drawn  by  four  white  horses;  carriages  with  vis- 
iting and  local  priests. 

Having  arrived  at  the  parochial  residence,  the  bishop  was 
received  by  the  local  and  visiting  clergymen.  The  bishop  and 
clergy  being  vested,  the  procession,  at  3:  15  f.  m.,  began  to  move 
toward  the   new  edifice,   where  the  ceremonies  were  performed  as 

(452r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

directed  in  the  Pontifical  Romanuni.  Ttie  preliminary  ceremonies 
being  over,  the  massive  stone  was  lowered  into  })osition,  guided 
on  the  north  side  by  the  benefactor,  Herman  Hulman,  whose  gen- 
erous donations  had  made  it  possible  to  undertake  the  erection  of 
the  new  church  on  so  elaborate  a  scale.  The  ceremonies  being 
ended,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Chatard,  with  the  clergy,  mounted  the 
large  platform  which  had  been  erected  and  preached  an  eloquent 
sermon  in  English,  and  Very  Rev.  Hugolinus  Storff,  O.  S.  F..  in 
the  German  language.  In  conclusion,  the  pastor  intoned  the  Te 
Deum  (Groszer  Gott  wir  loben  Dich),  in  which  he  was  joined  by 
the  entire  congregation,  accompanied  by  the  Ringgold  brass  band. 
This  ended  the  ceremonies.  The  day  itself  was  a  most  delightful 
one,  and  thousands  of  people  had  thronged  the  streets  to  wit- 
ness the  event. 

Work  on  the  new  church  was  again  resumed  and  continued 
until  cold  weather  necessitated  a  suspension  until  the  spring  of 
1897,  when  work  progressed  uninterruptedly,  so  that  the  con- 
tractor was  able  to  deliver  over  the  building  and  keys  of  the  same 
to  the  pastor  and  trustees  on  the  12th  day  of  March.   1898. 

St.  Ann's  Parish,  Terre  Haute,  was  organized  in  1866.  Rev. 
M.  Quinlan  was  its  first  pastor.  It  comprises  the  northern  portion 
of  the  city,  and  has  about  100  families  besides  the  1 10  inmates  of 
St.  Ann's  Orphan  asylum.  The  parish  was  created  to  accommodate 
the  few  families  residing  north  of  Chestnut  street — the  pastor  say- 
ing one  mass  at  the  asylum  each  Sunday  morning  and  one  for  the 
small  congregation  at  the  church.  The  situation  has  changed 
somewhat  since  then,  as  St.  Ann's  parish  is  now  large  enough  of 
itself  to  keep  its  pastor  busy;  nevertheless  he  is  the  chaplain  of  the 
asylum  also. 

The  present  St.  Ann's  church,  a  frame  structure  35x75  feet, 
was  built  in  1866.  About  the  same  time  the  greater  part  of  the 
present  pastoral  residence  was  erected.  It  has  since  been  added 
to  and  much  improved.  A  debt  of  considerable  magnitude,  of 
course,  was  occasioned  by  these  buildings,  and  Father  Ouinlan 
relinquishing  the  charge,  the  church  was  attended  by  the  pastor 
of  St.  Joseph  and  his  assistants.-    This  state   of   affairs   continued 

"1463) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

until  February  i,  1878,  when  Rev.  John  McCabe,  just  ordained, 
was  on  that  very  day  placed  in  charge  of  St.  Ann's  congregation  as 
its  second  pastor.  He  continued  his  labors  until  about  July,  1885, 
when,  on  the  third  day  of  that  month  and  same  year,  its  present 
pastor.  Rev.  John  Ryves,  was  commissioned  by  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Chatard. 

Father  Ryves.  with  the  experience  of  one  year  and  a  half  at 
New  Castle,  where  he  paid  off  a  debt  on  the  church,  and  of  twenty- 
three  months  at  Richmond,  where  he  also  paid  oE  another  parish 
debt,  took  hold  of  St.  Ann's  with  the  knowledge  that  there,  too, 
he  had  to  wrestle  with  a  financial  obligation.  He  applied  himself 
to  the  work,  and  has  succeeded  in  paying  off  $1,000.  Since  his 
taking  charge  he  has  remodeled  and  frescoed  the  interior  of  the 
church,  improved  and  refurnished  the  parsonage  at  an  outlay  of 
more  than  $1,000,  and  to  the  parish  grounds  has  added  an  extra 
lot  for  school-house  purposes,  thereby  making  the  enlarged  lot  300 
by  136  feet.   This  new  lot  fronts  on  Locust  street,  and  cost  $1,000. 

The  value  of  the  property  is  considerably  over  $10,000.  This 
value  is  sure  to  increase,  as  the  city  is  fast  extending  its  improve- 
ments not  only  up  to  and  around  St.  Ann's,  but  also  beyond. 
Dwellings  are  being  erected  and  real  estate  in  the  vicinity  is  now 
in  demand,  whereas  the  same  property  was  not  heretofore  consid- 
ered either  desirable  or  valuable.  With  this  fact  in  view,  and  also 
the  willingness  and  efhciency  of  the  pastor  considered,  the  future 
of  St.  Ann's  congregation  is  certainly  bright  with  promise. 

The  systematic  working  of  the  congregation  in  the  matter  of 
trustees,  societies,  choir,  etc.,  is  about  the  average,  except  that 
the  choir  is  remarkable  for  the  youth  of  its  members,  and  also 
their  talent  and  good  will.  They  volunteer  their  services,  a  thing 
which  is  greatly  appreciated,  not  only  by  the  reverend  pastor,  but 
by  the  entire  congregation  as  well. 

The  hours  for  the  Sunday  masses  are  8  and  10  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  with  catechism  at  2  in  the  afternoon,  followed  by  ves- 
pers and  benediction. 

The  parish  school  has  about  100  boys  and  girls  in  attendance, 
with  three  Sisters  of  Providence  as  tutors. 

Rev.  John  Rvves,  of  whom  a  biographical  notice  is  given  on 

(454) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

page  872,  \'ol.  II,  is  a  debt  payer  but  not  much  of  a  debt  creator. 
He  believes  in  pa3'ing  as  you  go,  or,  at  least,  in  coming  as  near  to 
so  doing  as  possible. 

The  youthful  pastor  here  mentioned  is  noted  for  (juite  a  num- 
ber of  traits  and  capacities  besides  his  financial  ability.  With 
Tennyson's  Merlin,  he  might  say:  "  Use  gave  me  fame  at  first, 
and  fame,  again  increasing,  gave  me  use."  He  is  an  apostle  of 
temperance,  is  among  the  ablest  advocates  of  the  cause,  and  is 
doing  great  good  among  his  own  people  as  well  as  occasionally  in 
many  other  parts  of  the  diocese.  As  a  pulpit  orator  and  popular 
speaker  he  has  few  equals  for  his  years.  His  address  is  most 
pleasing,  his  manner  modest,  while  his  personal  appearance  is  up 
to  the  standard.  He  is  notably  unassuming,  and  seems  to  be 
unaware  of  his  powers,  or  else  to  have  attained  to  a  degree  of 
modesty  far  beyond  that  of  the  average  young  clergyman. 

St.  Patrick's  congregation  was  set  apart  or  organized  in  1881, 
as  much  with  a  view  to  accommodate  the  people  of  the  southeast 
section  of  Terre  Haute  as  to  establish  a  Catholic  school  there. 
Rev.  Thomas  X.  Logan  was  placed  in  charge,  and  began  at  once 
the  erection  of  St.  Patrick's  church,  a  Gothic  structure  of  large 
dimensions,  which  is  among  the  finest  church-edifices  in  the  city. 
The  parish  grounds  are  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Thirteenth  and 
Poplar  streets.  The  church  is  on  the  corner,  and  to  the  east  is 
the  parish  school-building  erected  and  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of 
Piovidence.  This  is  a  spacious  brick  structure,  and  is  attended  by 
200  children.  In  the  rear  of  the  church,  and  fronting  on  Thir- 
teenth street,  is  the  home  of  the  pastor. 

St.  Patrick's  church  was  built  when  prices  were  high  and  infla- 
tion was  upon  the  land.  It  cost  $22,000,  and  perhaps  is  a  good 
value  for  the  money,  especially  if  we  include  the  elegant  furnish- 
ings, the  fine  altars  and  other  improvements.  There  are  260 
zealous  families  in  the  parish.  The  church  societies  at  St.  Pat- 
rick's are  numerous  and  prosperous  and  the  choir  is  especially 
praiseworthy.  To  assist  at  vespers  at  St.  Patrick's  is  to  be 
delighted  with  the  service.  The  pastor,  in  unison  with  the  altar 
boys,  chants  the  psalms  in  alternate  verse  with  the  choir  and  entire 

(455) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

congregation.  The  musical  ear  can  detect  some  very  good  voices, 
notably  among  the  sopranos  and  altos,  while  the  compact  and 
sweet  baritone  of  the  pastor  is  clearly  distinguishable.  The  congre- 
gation is  in  very  good  condition,  and,  while  composed  of  no  wealthy' 
members,  it  is  nevertheless  harmonious  and  united  in  its  efforts  to 
do  its  whole  duty.  There  are  comparatively  few  drones  among 
the  busy  bees  of  St.  Patrick's,  and  among  the  most  active  and  best 
disposed  are  the  following  gentlemen,  who  act  as  trustees:  Dan 
Lynch,  Dennis  Barret,  Michael   Burke  and  John  James. 

Rev.  Father  Logan  founded  the  parish,  and  Rev.  D.  J. 
McMullen,  now  of  Richmond,  Ind.,  succeeded  him  and  was  the 
immediate  predecessor  of  the  present  very  reverend  pastor.  He 
remained  in  charge  of  St.  Patrick's  from  July  20,  1883,  until  July 
I,  1885.  Very  Rev.  Victor  A.  Schnell,  the  present  beloved  pastor 
of  St.  Patrick's  church,  is  a  genial  and  scholarly  gentleman.  He 
is  certainly  a  cosmopolitan  of  the  most  approved  type;  being  a 
Frenchman  by  birth,  and  an  American  by  adoption,  a  German  in 
language,  an  Irishman  by  association,  a  Catholic  by  the  grace  of 
God,  and  a  priest  without  doubt  by  divine  vocation.  On  page 
918,  Vol.  n,  will  be  found  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life  and  labors. 

Father  Schnell  has  zealously  devoted  himself  to  the  spiritual 
and  educational  interests  of  his  people  without  at  all  neglecting 
their  material  interests.  Since  his  advent  at  St.  Patrick's  he  has 
not  only  paid  off  considerable  of  the  crushing  debt  which  he  found 
on  the  church,  but  has  even  made  some  improvements  beside,  one 
of  which,  the  frescoing  of  the  church,  is  certainly  a  very  com- 
mendable work.  He  is  devoting  himself  to  the  parish  schools  and, 
being  a  musician,  his  choir  is  not  neglected,  for  he  takes  consider- 
able pride  in  its  success. 

He  is  an  able  and  practical  preacher,  the  possessor  of  a  good 
voice  and  all  the  effective  requisites  of  the  pulpit.  He  is  a  man  o^ 
excellent  judgment,  his  zeal  is  tempered  with  prudence,  and  his 
being  a  member  of  the  bishop's  council  is  a  fitting  recognition  of 
his  work.  Few  men  have  borne  up  under  the  trials  of  twenty 
years  of  severe  missionary  life  as  resolutely  and  cheerfully  as  has 
plain  Father  Schnell,  the  soldier,  priest  and  cosmopolitan. 


(456) 


IN    THE    STATE    OE    INDIANA. 


Til' TON,     III'TON    COUNTY. 


St.  John  the  Baptist  Church. — Prior  to  1856  there  were  but 
five  Catholic  families  in  Tipton  county  and  no  priest  visited  the 
community,  the  worshipers  attending  mass  at  Kokomo.  The  first 
mass  celebrated  in  Tipton  county  was  at  the  home  of  Daniel  Mor- 
gan, who  resided  two  miles  east  of  Tipton,  and  Father  Maloney 
was  the  priest  present.  He  ministered  to  the  wants  of  the  people 
but  a  short  time,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Father  Force; 
next  came  Rev.  Father  Bernard  Kroeger,  now  of  St.  Bridget's 
church,  Logansport,  during  whose  charge  the  first  church  property 
was  obtained,  one  lot  being  donated  by  Cornelius  Barlow,  and  one 
lot  being  purchased.  The  present  church  occupies  this  first  acqui- 
sition. Father  Kroeger  was  succeeded  by  Father  Mougin,  and  he 
in  turn  by  Rev.  L.  Lamour,  who  had  charge  in  1865.  In  1867 
came  Rev.  M.  Haly,  and  in  1869  Rev.  F.  Borg.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  J.  O'Brien,  who,  in  1871,  was  followed  by  Rev.  P. 
M.  Frawley.  In  1872  Rev.  J.  Grogan  officiated  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1873,  by  Father  Lordemann.  In  1874  or  1875  the 
first  church  was  built;  there  were  up  to  this  time  only  about  fifteen 
families  in  the  parish,  and  the  treasury  contained  only  $3.  How- 
ever, a  comfortable  frame  church-edifice  was  erected.  Father 
Lordemann  held  divine  service  once  each  month,  as  the  greater 
portion  of  his  time  was  consumed  at  Kokomo,  the  main  parish. 
It  was  during  this  time  that  the  right  reverend  bishop  sent  an 
assistant  to  relieve  Father  Lordemann  of  the  Tipton  charge,  and 
also  to  attend  the  extra  charges  at  Boxley  and  Buscher's,  which 
are  now  attended  from  Elwood.  In  1876,  Rev.  F.  G.  Lentz 
arrived  as  the  first  resident  priest.  It  now  became  necessary  to 
have  a  residence  for  the  pastor,  and  the  members  set  to  work 
with  a  will,  raised  a  subscription,  lent  willing  hands,  and  soon  a 
comfortable  home  was  completed.  A  pastor  being  a  permanent 
fixture,  new  members  located  in  the  county  and  the  church  soon 
assumed  a  more  healthy  and  flourishing  condition,  and  the  congre- 
gation so  increased  that  an  addition  to  the  church-building  was 
erected,  so  as  to  increase  the  seating  capacity.      It  now  became 


(457) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

necessary  to  provide  a  school  for  the  children,  and  in  August,  1885, 
the  corner-stone  of  a  handsome  two-story  brick  was  laid,  but 
before  the  building  was  completed  the  church  (December  14,  1885) 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  one  of  the  halls  of  the  school-building 
was  devoted  to  church  purposes.  This  room  was  used  until  the 
completion  of  the  present  church,  the  corner-stone  being  laid 
June  16,  1889.  Father  Lentz  was  succeeded,  June  5,  1890,  by 
Rev.  A.  J.  Kroeger,  the  present  pastor,  who  is  beloved  by  all  who 
know  him. 

The  present  church-edifice  was  dedicated  August  30,  1891, 
and  visitors  were  present  from  LaFayette,  Fort  Wayne,  Logans- 
port,  Kokomo,  Muncie.  New  Castle,  Indianapolis,  Connersville, 
Frankfort  and  other  places,  various  societies  from  said  towns  com- 
ing in  a  body.  In  the  absence  of  Bishop  Dwenger  the  services 
were  conducted  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Brammer,  vicar-general  of  the  Fort 
Wayne  diocese.  He  was  assisted  by  Fathers  J.  H.  Guendling,  of 
LaFayette,  B.  Biegel,  of  Elwood,  and  Lordemann,  of  Kokomo, 
the  sermon  being  delivered  by  Father  Brammer.  The  choir  of 
Mother  Gertrude,  of  the  Sisters,  rendered  Haydn's  Imperial  (No. 
i)  mass.  The  church-building  is  of  Gothic  architecture,  with 
eighty  feet  frontage  and  130  feet  in  depth.  It  is  provided  with  all 
modern  church  conveniences,  including  gallery,  cloak  and  ante- 
rooms, etc.,  and  the  frescoing  is  equaled  by  that  of  but  few 
churches  in  the  state.  The  windows  are  rare  works  of  art,  two  of 
them  costing  $800.  In  one  of  the  windows  is  a  representation  of 
the  Madonna,  with  the  words  "Ave  Maria,  Gratia  Plena."  The 
other  represents  a  vision  of  the  Redeemer.  In  every  part  of  the 
building  the  artist,  F.  B.  Kendrick,  of  Fort  Wayne,  has  displayed 
his  skill.  The  present  church-edifice  is  an  imposing  structure  and 
would  do  credit  to  a  much  larger  congregation.  It  has  a  seating 
capacity  of  800,  and  is  valued  at  $35,000.  In  1897  a  new  two- 
story  brick  residence  for  the  pastor.  Rev.  A.  J.  Kroeger,  was 
erected,  costing  about  $4,000,  but  as  the  members  of  the  Tipton 
parish  are  always  ready  to  assist  in  labor,  the  cash  outlay  on  any 
building  erected  by  them  is  much  less  than  the  value  of  the  property 
when  completed. 


(458) 


IN  THE  STATK  OF  INDIANA. 


TKUV,  rERRV  COUNTY. 


St.  Pius'  Church,  at  Troy,  was  erected  in  1849,  is  of  brick, 
and  is  48  x  33  feet  in  dimensions.  It  has  been  attended  as  fol- 
lows: Revs.  J.  Contin.  from  1849  to  1851;  Henry  Peters,  Jan- 
uary 10,  1851,  to  August  3,  1853;  P.  Bede  O'Connor,  O.  S.  B. , 
until  September  4,  1854,  from  Ferdinand;  Michael  Marendt  until 
September  25,  1859;  Joseph  Kaufmann  until  February  2,  1863; 
Ferdinand  Hundt  until  February  6,  1864,  from  Tell  City;  Martin 
Marty,  O.  S.  B.,  until  October  i,  1865,  from  St.  Meinrad;  Wolfgang 
Schlumpf,  O.  S.  B.,  until  December  10,  1865;  Fred.  Friedinger 
until  June  10,  1866;  P.  Fintan  and  P.  Benno,  O.  S.  B.,  until 
December  23,  1866;  Andrew  Michael  until  August  4,  1867;  B.  H. 
Kintrup  until  November  14,  1869;  P.  Benno  Gerber,  O.  S.  B. , 
until  August  I,  1871;  F.  Mueller  until  October  20,  1873,  resident; 
Henry  Hug,  O.  S.  B.,  until  May  4,  1875;  ^-  Placidus  Zarn,  O.  S. 
B.,  until  May,  4,  1876;  P.  Conrad  Ackermann,  O.  S.    B. 

Missions  were  held  by  Rev.  F.  X.  Weninger,  S.  J.,  in  1859, 
and  by  Rev.  Alphonse  Leute,  O.  S.  B.,  in  1875.  In  1879  the  con- 
gregation numbered  seventy-two  families.  The  estimated  value  of 
.the  church  property  is  $2,800.  The  parsonage  was  bought  in 
1859,  and  the  corner-stone  of  a  new  brick  church  was  laid  in  Sep- 
tember, 1 88 1.      The  present  pastor  is  the  Rev.  William  Wack. 

TURKEY  CREEK,  LAKE  COUNTY. 

SS.  Peter  and  Paul's  Church,  of  Turkey  Creek,  was  attended 
as  a  station  as  early  as  1847  by  Rev.  A.  Carius,  and  from  1850  by 
the  Holy  Cross  Fathers — Cointet,  \'oors  and  Schilling — from 
Notre  Dame,  St.  Joseph  county,  who  regularly  paid  their  visits 
until  1857,  when  F'ather  Tusch  became  the  first  secular  pastor. 
He  was  followed  for  a  short  time  by  Father  Mayer,  and  then  came 
Rev.  Philip  Wegmeyer,  in  1858,  as  the  first  resident  priest,  who 
remained  until  the  fall  of  1859,  after  which  came  Father  Giedel, 
who  officiated  until  February,  1862,  when  Rev.  M.  P.  Wehrle  was 
placed  in  charge.  Prior  to  this  date  the  congregation  worshiped 
in  a  log  building,  one  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  the  present 

"1459) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

church-edifice,  which  was  erected  by  Father  Wehrle  in  1863.  The 
site  of  the  old  church  is  still  utilized  as  a  cemetery.  Father 
Wehrle  remained  in  charge  of  the  congregation  until  the  summer 
of  1867,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Father  Schmitz,  resident  pas- 
tor of  Dyer,  Ind.,  who  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Philip  Wegmeyer, 
who  resided  in  Turkey  Creek,  and  who  again  officiated  from  the 
fall  of  1868  until  July,  1871;  Rev.  H.  Meissner  was  the  pastor 
from  that  time  until  the  summer  of  1873;  Rev.  F.  J.  Frund,  until 
the  spring  of  1874;  Rev.  Baumgardner,  from  April,  1874,  until 
December,  1880;  Rev.  H.  M.  Roth,  until  the  spring  of  1883,  and 
thereafter  the  congregation  was  attended  from  Crown  Point  by  the 
Rev.  Maurice  Kaeder,  O.  S.  B.,  until  the  close  of  1884,  when  Rev. 
Joseph  Flach  was  appointed  resident  priest  and  remained  from 
early  in  1885  until  July  29,  1888,  when  the  Rev.  Charles  V.  Stet- 
ter,  the  present  pastor,  was  placed  in  charge.  To  Turkey  Creek 
there  belong  at  present  about  forty  German  families. 

.UNION    CITY,    RANDOLPH    COUNTY. 

The  Catholic  church  at  Union  City  was  begun  in  1854;  Rev. 
Sheon,  of  Sidney,  was  pastor  one  year.  Rev.  Hemsteger,  from 
Piqua,  came  in  1855;  Rev.  Clane  came  next  and  established  a 
chapel  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Weis,  two  miles  from  town;  Rev.  Hem- 
steger came  again,  and  stayed  four  years;  Rev.  Shelhammer,  from 
Greenville,  then  came,  remaining  until  1862;  Rev.  McMahon  was 
next,  until  1865.  During  his  pastorship  a  church  was  built  on 
Plum  street  north  of  Oak  street,  frame,  and  about  1870  a  large 
bell  was  added.  Rev.  Lamour  was  pastor  from  1867  to  1870; 
Rev.  Von  Schwedler,  1870  to  1871;  Rev.  Noll,  1871  to  1875.  Kev. 
Jeremiah  Ouinlan  succeeded,  who  was  pastor  until  1890,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  F.  A.  King.  The  congregation  is  thriving 
and  prosperous,  with  a  property  of  four  lots,  a  church,  a  parson- 
age, nunnery  and  a  school-house;  as  also  a  cemetery,  out  of  town, 
two  miles  north  of  the  Salem  pike.  St.  Mary's  school  is  taught 
by  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  and  is  attended  by  100  pupils.  A 
flourishing  day  school  has  been  maintained  for  many  years  by  the 
Catholics,    which   has  been,  for   a   considerable   time,   free   to  all 

(leoT 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

comers,  throu^'h  the  munificence  of   Peter  Kuntz,  lumber  dealer  in 
Union  City,  and  a  member  of  the  Catholic  congregation. 

The  congregation,  in  1890,  was  worshiping  in  a  substantial,  but 
unpretentious  and  wholly  inadequate  edifice,  and  Father  King's 
first  thought  was  to  provide  a  fairer  and  properly  commodious 
house  of  worship  for  his  people.  There  was  only  about  $1,200 
in  the  church  treasury,  but  this  apparant  lack  of  material  funds 
did  not  deter  the  earnest  pastor,  and  it  was  not  long  until  his 
efforts  toward  the  enlargement  of  his  parish  were  rewarded  by  the 
assurance  of  a  fund  sufficient  to  guarantee  the  completion  of  the 
work  he  had  in  mind.  In  1891  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  church 
was  laid  with  imposing  ceremonies,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Brammer 
officiating.  On  February  12,  1895 — proud  day  for  St.  Mary's  par- 
ish— the  new  church,  splendid  and  complete,  was  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  God,  the  dedicatory  services  being  presided  over  by 
Bishop  Chatard.  This  new  church  cost  nearly  $25,000,  and  so 
well  have  its  frnances  been  managed  that  the  congregation  is  prac- 
tically out  of  debt.  The  church  is  well-finished  and  stands  a  sub- 
stantial local  monument  to  the  zeal  of  good  Father  King  and  the 
earnestness  of  his  parishioners.  The  present  congregation  num- 
bers 126  families. 

With  its  passing  as  a  place  of  worship  the  old  church  did  not 
lose  its  usefulness,  however,  as  it  is  now  constantly  occupied  as  a 
place  of  meeting  of  the  several  auxiliary  societies  of  St.  Mary's.  In 
this  old  structure  are  held  the  meetings  of  the  Catholic  Benevolent 
society,  of  the  Catholic  Benevolent  legion  and  of  the  Catholic 
Knights  of  St.  John. 

St.  Mary's  cemetery  is  a  beautiful  spot  of  consecrated  ground, 
containing  five  acres,  and  the  pride  of  the  parish  is  manifested  in 
keeping  it  in  faultless  order. 

In  addition  to  his  duties  as  pastor  of  St.  Mary's,  Father  King 
is  also  charged  with  the  spiritual  direction  of  the  adjacent  mission 
at  Winchester.  This  is  an  interesting  and  growing  mission,  at 
present  containing  about  a  dozen  families  and  full  of  promise  of 
large  future  development.  The  church-building  is  a  frame,  was 
built  in  1882  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Ouinlan  and  cost  $600. 


28 


(461) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


VALPARAISO,    PORTER    COUNTY. 


St.  Paul's  Church,  at  Valparaiso,  was  organized  in  1861  by  the 
late  Rev.  Father  O'Reilly,  though  previous  to  that  the  congrega- 
tion, which  was  somewhat  small  and  scattered  about  the  vicinity, 
was  looked  after  by  Revs.  George  Hamilton,  John  Force  and  A. 
Batti.  Father  O'Reilly  at  first  held  services  in  a  hall  over  one  of 
the  business  houses,  and  several  years  later  erected  a  commodious 
structure,  within  a  stone-thrown,  where  now  stands  one  of  the 
handsomest  and  finest  edifices  in  the  state,  erected,  in  1880,  at  a 
cost  of  $60,000.  Later  he  built  St.  Paul's  school,  a  three-story 
brick  building,  and  a  pastoral  residence.  He  died  in  1888,  and 
Rev.  John  Dempsey,  now  at  Crawfordsville,  took  charge,  and  he 
was  succeeded,  in  June,  1898,  by  Rev.  John  H.  Bathe,  of  Wabash, 
who  was  transferred,  in  July,  to  Fort  Wayne.  Very  Rev.  L.  A. 
Moench,  for  many  years  stationed  at  Plymouth,  is  now  rector. 

The  congregation  numbers  about  2,000,  and  is  composed  of 
Irish,  Germans,  Americans,  French  and  English.  The  congrega- 
tion owns  its  own  cemetery,  which  was  purchased  in  1872  and  con- 
secrated by  the  late  Bishop  Joseph  Dwenger,  D.  D.,  of  Fort  Wayne. 
It  is  the  best  laid  out  and  handsomest  in  the  county.  Though  over 
$100,000  have  been  spent  during  the  past  twenty  years  in  the  way 
of  buildings,  etc.,  the  congregation  is  at  present  nearly  free  from 
debt. 

The  parochial  school  connected  with  the  academy  is  in  charge 
of  five  Sisters  of  Providence,  and  is  attended  by  forty-five  boys  and 
eighty-five  girls. 

VANDERBURG  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Church. — The  first  Catholic  church  in  St.  Joseph's 
parish  was  a  log  structure,  and  was  erected  in  the  summer  of  1841. 
The  building  was  two  stories  high,  the  front  half  of  the  lower  floor 
being  utilized  for  school  purposes,  and  the  rear  half,  divided  into 
two  small  rooms,  served  as  the  pastoral  residence,  while  the  upper 
floor  was  devoted  to  divine  service.  Prior  to  the  erection  of  this 
building,  mass  had  been  read,  as  far  back  as  1836,  by  the  Redemp- 
torist.  Father  Czackart,  at  the  house  of   Widow  Weis,  the  Father 

(462r 


IN    THE    STATE    OI"    INDIANA. 

coming  all  the  way  from  St.  Marie,  Jasper  county,  111.,  where  he 
had  his  home  with  John  Pi(iuet.  Kev.  Roman  Weinzoepfel  suc- 
ceeded Father  Czackart  and  attended  until  May,  1842,  after  which 
date  Rev.  Anthony  Deydier  visited  the  mission  several  times.  In 
October,  1842,  Rev.  Conrad  Schneiderjans,  of  Oldenburg,  Frank- 
lin county,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  missions  near  Evansville, 
established  himself  at  St.  Wendel,  and  from  that  place  visited  St. 
Joseph's  until  the  fall  of  1845.  Rev.  C.  Oppermann  and  Rev. 
Martin  Stahl,  assistants  of  Father  Deydier  at  Evansville,  occasion- 
ally visited  the  mission  until  April,  1846,  when  Rev.  Roman  Wein- 
zoepfel  returned,  his  station  being  then  at  St.  Wendel. 

September  15,  1849,  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  came  to  St.  Joseph's 
parish  to  administer  the  sacrament  of  confirmation.  This  visit  was 
a  blessed  one,  as  it  resulted  in  the  purchase  of  ground,  at  a  cost  of 
$95,  for  the  site  of  a  new  church-edifice.  Thirty  families  sub- 
scribed $1,700,  in  money,  toward  the  construction  of  the  proposed 
building,  while  others  pledged  themselves  to  furnish  labor  or 
material.  May  28,  1850,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  edifice  was 
laid  by  Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  assisted  by  Fathers  Deydier,  Kutassy 
and  Weinzoepfel.  The  foundations  were  40x86  feet,  the  walls  of 
brick,  and  of  Roman  architecture.  The  total  cost  of  the  building 
was  about  $2,200,  not  including  the  cost  of  the  bell  ($150),  nor 
the  labor  and  material  donated,  and  of  this  sum  Bishop  de  St. 
Palais  liberally  contributed  $200  from  his  private  means.  April 
13,  185  I,  divine  ser\ices  were  held  in  the  new  church,  but  it  was 
not  until  April  27,  that  the  building  was  formally  dedicated.  From 
May  9  until  May  17,  1852,  a  very  successful  mission  was  held  by 
Rev.  F.  X.  Wenninger,  S.  J.,  the  neighboring  congregations  taking 
part,  and  holy  communion   was   administered   to    about  900  souls. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  'fifties  St.  Joseph's  received  its  first  res- 
ident pastor  in  the  person  of  Rev.  F.  W.  Pepersack,  who  erected 
a  substantial  brick  parsonage  at  a  cost  of  only  $1,000.  In  June, 
1861,  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  B.  Merl,  who  remained  until 
Ma>-,  1874.  On  November  i,  1874,  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Sondermann 
was  placed  in  charge,  remaining  until  May,  1875,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Jos.  Schuck.  In  1879  Father  Schuck  built  the 
present  imposing  school-house  at  a  cost  of   $5,000.      In  1885   he 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

was  sent  to  a  more  important  charge  and  Father  Pepersack 
returned  to  St.  Joseph's.  In  the  summer  of  1886  the  church  with 
all  its  contents  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  was  a  hard  blow  for  the 
congregation  and  its  venerable  pastor,  who,  finding  himself,  owing 
to  the  infirmities  of  age,  unequal  to  the  task  of  rebuilding,  resigned 
in  the  fall  of  1887,  when  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Schenk  was  asked  to 
assume  the  work.  Father  Schenk  pushed  the  undertaking  with 
characteristic  vim,  and,  being  cheerfully  seconded  by  his  parish- 
ioners, erected,  in  1888,  the  present  beautiful  edifice,  which,  with 
its  appurtenances,  cost  about  $  I  5,000.  In  November,  1897,  Father 
Schenk  was  transferred  to  Brookville,  and  the  Rev.  Frank  A.  Roell 
given  temporary  charge  of  St.  Joseph's,  remaining  until  May,  1898, 
when  Rev.  Henry  Fein  succeeded  him.  A  commodious  parsonage 
of  modern  architecture,  costing  $3,000,  will  be  erected  in  1899. 

The  congregation  of  St.  Joseph's  at  present  numbers  100  fam- 
ilies, mostly  prosperous  farmers.  The  parochial  school,  taught  by 
three  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  is  attended  by  eighty  pupils.  The 
parish  is  also  spiritually  in  a  most  healthy  condition. 

VIGO  COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods. — The  grounds  for  the  first  church 
and  cemetery  in  St.  Mary's  parish  were  donated  in  1837  by  the 
late  Joseph  Thralls,  the  patriarch  of  his  family  and  the  pioneer  of 
Catholicity  in  these  parts.  In  his  house  the  first  pastor  and  other 
missionary  priests  found  a  home.  The  first  church,  a  small  frame 
structure,  was  built  in  1837.  It  was  accidentally  burnt  down  in 
1842  or  1843.  The  ne.xt  church  was  erected  in  1844.  It  was  a 
small  brick  building  which,  old  residenters  say,  had  very  much  the 
appearance  of  a  prison  or  jail,  from  the  fact  that  there  were  no 
windows  in  it,  exeept  one  or  two  situated  on  or  near  the  roof. 
This  unique  little  structure  was  blessed  on  November  7,  1844.  The 
following  item  is  copied  from  the  record:  "  1844.  November 
7th,  Feast.  Rt.  Rev.  G.  de  la  Hailandiere,  Bp.  Vin.,  blessed  the 
church  at  St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods,  dedicated  to  God  under  the 
invocation  of  the  Mother  of  God,  b)^  the  name  of  St.  Mary's  of  the 
Woods;  attended  the  ceremony:  M.  M.  E.  Shaw,  L.  Lalumiere, 
\'.  Bellier,  S.  Buteu.x  and  M.  Mullen.      J.  Corbe,  pastor.  " 

(464) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

This  prison-like  building  was  pulled  down  and  replaced  by  the 
present  church  in  1866.  Priests  visited  these  parts  at  an  early 
day.  The  first  that  can  be  given  as  correct  is  that  of  the  Rev. 
Stanislaus  Buteux,  who  became  the  first  resident  priest  in  1 837.  His 
first  baptism  is  dated  January  12,  1837,  his  first  marriage  Decem- 
ber 19,  1837.  He  was  noted  for  his  kindness  of  heart,  cheerful, 
frank  manners,  and  ardent  zeal  in  the  conversion  oi  souls.  He 
was  beloved  by  both  Catholics  and  Protestants.  The  old  resi- 
denters  love  to  talk  of  the  old  times  when  Father  Buteux  was 
wont  to  visit  them  in  their  humble  log  cabins,  and  warm  his  feet 
by  their  blazing  fire-places.  Father  Buteux  made  several  con- 
verts at  an  early  date,  some  of  whom  did  not  prove  faithful.  He 
remained  at  St.  Mary's  until  1842,  when  he  went  to  Boston,  Mass., 
where  he  died  in  June,  1875,  beloved  by  clergy  and  people. 
Father  Buteux  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Anthony  Parret,  who 
remained  until  1844,  when  he  joined  the  Jesuits,  and  died,  many 
years  ago  in  the  south,  of  yellow  fever. 

Rev.  John  Corbe  was  appointed  the  pastor  in  1844.  He  had 
charge  until  1865,  when  he  resigned  the  pastorship  of  St.  Mary's 
congregation,  but  remained  chaplain  at  the  mother-house  of  the 
Sisters  of  Providence  until  the  day  of  his  death,  June  3,  1872. 
Father  Corbe  was  a  native  of  the  diocese  of  Rennes,  France, 
where  he  made  his  studies  and  was  ordained  priest.  He  was  quite 
young  when  he  followed  Bishop  Brute  to  the  diocese  of  Vincennes, 
in  1836.  His  first  mission  was  Francisville,  ten  miles  below  Vin- 
cennes. In  1840  he  took  charge  of  the  seminary  at  Vincennes, 
and  soon  after  also  of  the  congregation,  until  his  removal  to  St. 
Merry's  of  the  Woods  in  1844.  Bishop  de  St.  Palais  made  him  his 
vicar-general,  and,  during  the  absence  of  the  bishop  in  Europe,  he 
was  administrator  of  the  diocese. 

The  Benedictine  Fathers  at  Terre  Haute  now  took  charge  of 
St.  Mary's  church.  The  Rev.  Martin  Marty,  O.  S.  B.,  and  the 
Rev.  Fintan  Mundwiler,  O.  S.  B.,  paid  a  few  visits,  when,  in 
1866,  the  Rev.  Meinrad  McCarthy,  O.  S.  B.,  began  to  reside  here. 
He  had  his  home  with  the  excellent  Mr.  Thralls  until,  in  1868,  he 
built  a  two-story  frame  parsonage,  with  kitchen.  Under  his 
administration  the  present  brick  church,  75  x  32   feet,    was  built. 

"(466) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

He  also  had  charge  of  many  missions,  in  all  of  which  he  built 
small  churches,  not  less  than  six  in  number.  He  is  known  as 
"the"  church-builder.  He  remained  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  until 
the  spring  of  1871. 

The  Rev.  Eugene  F.  McHarron  came  on  July  7,  1871.  He 
revived  the  Catholic  schools,  which  had  been  discontinued  a  few 
years  before  his  advent.  The  Sisters  of  Providence  had  taught  the 
parish  school  from  the  time  of  their  arrival  from  France  in  1840. 
In  September,  1872.  Father  McBarron  re-opened  the  school,  with 
an  attendance  of  forty  children.  The  congregation  at  that  time 
numbered  seventy  families.  In  1873  he  built  an  addition  of  four 
rooms  to  his  parsonage.  The  old  cemetery  was  situated  near  the 
St.  Mary's  institute;  the  new  cemetery,  bought  of  Mr.  Frank 
Thralls  in  1866,  is  adjoining  the  present  church.  Having  labored 
zealously  for  the  happiest  results  in  his  congregation,  Bishop  Cha- 
tard,  to  the  great  credit  of  the  St.  Mary's  people,  appointed  him 
pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Assumption  at  Evansville,  where  he 
arrived  November  7,  1879.  Rev.  Augustine  Riehle  is  at  present 
the  pastor  of  St.  Mary's. 

VINCENNET    KNOX    COUNTY. 

Church  of  St.  Francis  Xavier. — Vincennes  is  the  oldest  city 
in  Indiana,  and  the  church  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  of  that  city,  for- 
merly the  cathedral  of  the  old  diocese  of  Vincennes.  was  the  first 
church  erected  in  the  state.  In  consequence,  it  has  special  claims 
upon  the  respect  and  veneration  of  the  Catholic  people. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  French  expedition  under  de  Vincennes, 
in  1702,  mass  was  celebrated  by  the  accompanying  Jesuit  priest  in 
the  open  air  under  a  tree  on  the  great  sand  hill  which  then  over- 
looked the  Wabash  river  at  that  point.  After  mass,  and  before 
either  the  priest,  the  Indians  or  the  soldiers  had  refreshed  them- 
selves, the  site  of  the  future  St.  Francis  Xavier  church  was 
selected;  afterwards  that  of  the  fort  was  determined,  which  for 
many  years  after  bore  the  name  of  the  church — Fort  St.  Francis 
Xavier. 

This  first  church  at  Vincennes  was  built  of  logs  placed  on  end, 
while  the  interstices  were  plastered  or  filled  with  adobe.      Several 

(46H) 


IN    THl£    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

Indians,  converted  by  the  missionaries  of  previous  years,  aided  in 
the  work  of  its  construction.  It  stood  until  about  the  year  1785, 
for  it  was  not  until  that  year,  memorable  by  the  arrival  of  Father 
Gibault,  that  the  new  or  second  lo^  church,  larger  than  the  first 
and  better  appointed,  was  ready  for  occupancy.  This  second 
structure  was  40x90  feet  and  served  its  purpose  until  1830,  when 
it  was  torn  down,  the  present  brick  church  having  been  then  ready 
for  use.  Its  ground  plan  was  60  x  115  feet,  and  its  vaulted  ceiling 
fully  seventy- five  feet  high.  The  church  was  later  lengthened  by 
Bishop  Hailandiere. 

This  edifice  was  projected  by  that  most  energetic  and  devoted 
priest.  Father  Champomier,  in  1825,  and  the  corner-stone  was 
laid  by  him  March  30,  1826.  Interiorly  it  remained  unfinished 
not  only  until  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Brute,  in  1834,  but  even  dur- 
ing his  life.  The  good  bishop  took  greater  interest  in  educational 
matters  than  in  church  adornment,  for  he  expended  funds  collected 
in  France  not  to  beautify  his  cathedral  church  but  to  establish  free 
parochial  schools  and  a  seminary  for  the  education  of  priests. 
However,  before  his  death,  in  1839,  he  had  collected  considerable 
material  looking  to  the  improvement  of  the  cathedral  church  of 
St.  Francis  Xavier. 

Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere,  who  succeeded  Bishop  Brute, 
attended  to  this  much  needed  work.  He  not  only  enlarged  the 
building  and  finished  the  interior,  but  also  erected  on  it  a  tower 
and  spire  and  placed  in  the  former  a  large  clock,  which  for  fifty 
years  told  time  for  the  public.  The  subsequent  pastors,  notably 
Fathers  O'Connor  and  Peythieu,  additionally  adorned  the  interior 
of  the  church  with  costly  oil  paintings  of  the  stations  of  the  cross 
and  with  a  life-size  sculpture  of  the  dead  Christ  upon  the  cross. 
These  to-day  are  the  most  attractive  features  of  that  venerable 
edifice. 

The  church  library,  which  Bishop  Brute  began  to  collect,  is 
now  a  most  creditable  feature,  while  the  parish  schools,  which 
date  back  to  the  days  of  that  saintly  bishop,  are,  as  he  would  have 
them,  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence.  About  300  children 
attend  them. 

The  location   of  the  church,  schools  and  rectory  is  central, 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

and  these  structures  are  among  the  finest  improvements  in  Vin- 
cennes. 

The  old  cemetery  which  adjoined  the  first  and  the  second  log 
churches  has  entirely  disappeared.  The  new  cemetery  is  beyond 
the  city  limits. 

In  the  chapel,  which  occupies  the  basement  of  the  present 
church,  repose  the  mortal  remains  of  Bishops  Brute,  Bazin,  Hai- 
landiere  and  St.  Palais. 

Thirty  or  more  missionary  priests  made  transient  visits  to 
Vincennes  and  exercised  their  priestly  functions  in  St.  Francis 
Xavier's  church  previous  to  the  establishment  of  the  old  Vincennes 
diocese  and  the  advent  of  Bishop  Brute,  in  1834.  Since  then  a 
much  larger  number  have  ministered  there,  the  history  and  labors 
of  whom  would  be  too  much  of  a  task  to  attempt  here.  The  present 
clergymen  in  charge  (1898)  are  Rev.  Louis  Gueguen,  rector,  and 
Rev.  John  Gorman,  assistant. 

Following  is  a  complete  list  of  all  the  pastors  who  have  offici- 
ated at  St.  Francis  Xavier's  cathedral  from  the  beginning  until  the 
present  time: 

The  unknown  Jesuit  Father,  who  founded  the  church,  from 
1702  to  1708;  John  Mermet,  from  1708;  Antonius  Senat,  who  was 
burned  at  the  stake  by  the  Indians  at  the  same  time  with  de  Vin- 
cennes on  Palm  Sunday,  1736;  Mercurin  Conic  in  1748;  Sebastin 
Louis  Meurin  in  1749;  P.  du  Jannay;  Louis  Vivier,  from  1753  to 
1756;  Julian  Duvernai,  from  1756  to  1.763.  He  was  kidnaped  by 
an  armed  force  sent  by  the  legislative  council  of  Louisiana  with 
instructions  to  arrest  all  Jesuit  priests  in  the  northwest.  This 
armed  force  in  the  night,  in  October,  1763,  seized  Father  Duver- 
nai and  his  property  and  carried  them  off  to  St.  Louis  and  thence 
to  New  Orleans.  The  priests  arrested  were  sent  to  France  on  the 
steamship  Minerve.  All  the  pastors  of  the  church  to  this  date 
were  French  Jesuits. 

Pierre  Gibault,  the  patriot  priest  of  the  northwest,  was  pastor 
at  different  times  from  February  10,  1770,  to  1792.  In  February, 
1777,  he  administered  the  oath  of  alliegance  to  the  French  settlers 
here,  binding  them  to  support  and  succor  the  American  colonies, 
then  struggling  for  independence.     For  this  he  was  arrested  by  the 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

British  authorities  and  sent  out  of  the  country.  Benedict  Joseph 
Flaget,  afterward  Bishop  of  Bardstown,  in  Kentucky,  was  the  next 
pastor.  This  church  was  his  first  ministerial  work  in  this  country. 
Father  Lavadoux  was  sent  here  by  Bishop  Carroll  in  1795;  John 
B.  Rivet,  also  sent  by  Bishop  Carroll,  remained  from  June  12, 
1796.  to  January  31,  1804,  the  date  of  his  death.  He  was  the  first 
priest  that  died  in  Vincennes.  Donatian  Olivier  came  in  1805; 
Charles  Nernick/,  in  1806;  Urban  Guillet,  in  1808;  Etienne  Theo- 
dore Badin,  in  1810;  Guy  J.  Chabrat,  afterward  coadjuter  bishop 
of  Bishop  Flaget;  Father  Rosati,  afterward  bishop  of  St.  Louis; 
Father  Aequeroni,  a  Lazarist;  Anthony  Blanc,  afterward  arch- 
bishop of  New  Orleans;  Father  Jeanjean;  Anthony  Ferrari,  in  18  19; 
Father  Richards,  who  was  afterward  elected  a  member  of  congress 
from  Michigan;  John  B.  Champomier,  the  builder  of  the  present 
church  edifice,  from  1823  to  1826;  Father  Durbin,  in  1826;  Father 
Abel,  in  1829;  Father  Fanche;  Father  John  Timon,  in  1830,  who 
was  afterward  first  bishop  of  Buffalo;  Father  Reynolds,  afterward 
bishop  of  Charleston;  S.  P.  Lalumiere;  Father  Petit;  Xavier 
Dahman;  Linnis  O.  Coome;  Stanislaus  Buteux;  Maurice  Berrel; 
Anthony  Paut;  Jul  an  Benoit;  Augustus  M.  Martin;  Benjamin 
Petit;  Anthony  Deydier;  Julian  Delaune;  John  Claude  Francois, 
who  celebrated  mass  for  the  first  time  in  Indianapolis,  in  1840, 
and  went  as  a  missionary  to  the  Catholics  around  Logansport; 
Michael  E.  Shawe,  one  of  the  most  eloquent  pulpit  orators  of  the 
time;  John  A.  Vabret;  Conrad  Schneiderjans;  Francis  Masquelet ; 
Joseph  Kundeck;  John  J.  Corbe;  John  B.  Chasse;  Roman  Wein- 
zoepfel;  Maurice  de  St.  Palais,  who  subsequently  became  bishop 
of  the  diocese;  Hypolite  Dupontavice;  Francis  Fisher;  Ernest 
Audran,  who  was  ordained  in  St.  Francis  Xavier,  April  26,  1846, 
became  its  pastor,  and  so  continued  until  1868,  when  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  St.  Augustin's  church  at  Jeffersonville,  where  he  has 
remained  to  the  present;  John  Gueguen;  Bede  O'Conner;  John 
Contin;  H.  Peythieu,  from  1879  to  his  death,  January  9,  1892;  and 
Louis  Gueguen,  from  November,  1890,  to  the  present  time. 

This  historic  church  will  ever  remain  a  land-mark  not  only  in 
the  political  history  of  Indiana,  but  also  in  the  history  of  Catho- 
licity in  the  west.      The    mental   eye   will   ever   turn   to  it   as   the 

(469) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

mother  church  of  the  Wabash  valley  and  of  Indiana,  whence  ema- 
nated faith  and  light  and  at  whose  altar  ministered  men  as  true  to 
church  and  country  as  those  of  any  other  state  in  our  American 
Union. 

St.  John  the  Baptist  Church. — -In  1839  the  German  emigrants 
to  this  country  began  to  locate  in  Vincennes.  The  most  of  them 
were  Catholics,  and  first  attended  divine  services  in  St.  Francis 
Xavier's  cathedral,  as  members  of  that  congregation.  In  a  few 
years  they  became  so  numerous  that  they  were  formed  mto  a  sepa- 
rate congregation,  and  occupied  the  cathedral  at  8  o'clock  on  Sun- 
days and  holy  days,  but  had  no  German  priest.  In  1846  Rev. 
Charles  Oppermann  came  and  ministered  for  them.  In  1847  Rev. 
Conrad  Schneiderjans  was  their  pastor.  They  resided  at  the 
cathedral  pastoral  residence,  and  the  congregation  worshiped  at 
the  cathedral.  In  1848  Rev.  Nicholas  Stauber  became  the  pastor 
of  the  German  congregation,  and  also  resided  at  the  cathedral  pas- 
toral residence.  But  a  beautiful  square  was  purchased,  upon 
which  he  erected  a  portion  of  the  present  St.  John's  church,  which 
is  a  brick  building,  80x40  feet.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Leon- 
ard Brandt,  who  remained  until  1856;  Rev.  William  Engeln  then 
came  and  remained  until  1863.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
yf^gidius  J.  Merz,  who  took  charge  in  September  of  the  same  year. 
The  German  congregation  of  St.  John's  was  then  very  large  and 
increasing,  and  the  church  was  soon  found  to  be  too  small  to 
accommodate  it.  In  the  fall  of  1866  Father  Merz  began  enlarging 
the  church  by  making  an  addition,  so  as  to  make  the  building  in 
the  form  of  a  cross.  This  addition  more  than  doubled  the  seating 
capacity  of  the  church  and  made  it  154  feet  long,  and  the  transept 
eighty  feet  longer.  And  again,  in  1891,  an  addition  to  the  church 
was  made  in  front  and  two  lofty  towers  erected,  making  St.  John's 
church  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  in  the  state.  The  church 
square  upon  which  the  church  is  erected  is  one  of  the  finest,  if  not 
the  finest,  church  property  in  the  state  of  Indiana. 

Father  Merz  died  in  March,  1896,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Meinrad  Fleischmann,  the  present  pastor.  The  congregation  num- 
bers about  500  families  and  the  large  church-building  is   filled  sev- 

(TtoT 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

eral  times  on  Sundays  and  holy  days.  In  addition  to  the  church- 
building  a  very  large  and  substantial  brick  building  for  the  parochial 
school  is  erected,  and  this  is  attended  by  at  least  200  pupils.  There 
is  also  erected  on  the  church  square  a  very  fine  brick  pastoral  resi- 
dence. The  church  square  rises  some  ten  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sidewalk,  and  is  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  massive  stone 
walls.  Taken  all  in  all,  St.  John's  German  church  of  Vincennes 
is  one  of  the  largest,  richest  and  most  flourishing  congregations  in 
the  state  of  Indiana. 

WABASH,    \VA15ASII    COUNTY. 

St.  Bernard's  Parish,  of  Wabash,  was  first  attended  as  a  mis- 
sion by  Rev.  John  Ryan  and  others  from  LaGro,  Ind.,  until  the 
fall  of  1870,  and  then  by  Rev.  F.  C.  Wiechmann,  assistant  at 
Peru,  until  1871,  when  he  became  the  first  resident  priest  and 
remained  until  1879,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  M.  M.  Hal- 
linan,  D.  D.,  who  officiated  until  December,  1881,  when  Rev. 
John  H.  Bathe  became  the  pastor  and  remained  until  May  16, 
1898,  when  he  was  followed  by  the  Very  Rev.  P.  J.  Crosson,  the 
present  incumbent. 

St.  Bernard's  church-building  was  begun  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  Father  Ryan,  was  completed  by  Rev.  B.  Kroeger,  and 
was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Luers.  The  building  is  of  brick,  is 
33x60  feet,  and  has  a  seating  capacity  for  200  persons.  The 
present  attendance  includes  120  families,  mostly  English-speaking, 
and  the  auditorium  is  consequently  well  filled  during  divine  serv- 
ices. During  Father  Wiechmann's  pastorate  an  effort  was  made 
to  establish  a  school,  but  was  not  successful,  and  since  then  no 
vigorous  endeavor  has  been  made  in  that  direction.  The  present 
value  of  the  church  property  is  estim^ated  at  $7,000,  and  the  con- 
gregation is  mostly  composed  of  people  who  came  here  when  the 
Wabash  &  Erie  canal,  and  also  the  Wabash  railroad,  were  in 
course  of  construction,  or  their  descendants. 

WANATAH,    LAPORTE    COUNTY. 

The  Church  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood,  at  Wanatah,  was 
organized  in  1887  by  Rev.  Dominic  Schunk,  there  being  then  in  the 
parish  about   forty-five    families,  of  German  and   Irish  nationality. 

~(471) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Father  Schunk  officiated  until  1897,  and  during  his  stay  erected  a 
frame  church-edifice,  Sox  35  feet,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  about 
300  souls,  at  a  cost  of  $5,000. 

Rev.  Dominic  Schunk  also  built  a  commodious  school,  to  which 
is  connected  a  residence  for  Sisters  and  spacious  room  for  boarders 
(boys  and  girls).  The  expenses  incurred  on  the  school  and  Sisters' 
residence  amount  to  about  $2,500.  Persons  wishing  to  place  their 
children  in  said  institution  should  communicate  with  the  Sister 
Superior  of  the  Precious  Blood,  Wanatah,  Ind.  The  school  was 
built  in  1888,  and  in  the  same  year  Rev.  Father  Dominic  Schunk 
built  the  parsonage  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,200.  Rev.  Dominic 
Schunk  deserves  credit  for  his  untiring  zeal,  as  do  also  the  good  peo- 
ple on  account  of  their  liberal  contributions.  Father  Schunk,  at  the 
time  of  building  in  Wanatah,  had  charge  of  ten  or  eleven  missions. 
This  may  give  some  idea  of  his  indomitable  courage. 

After  February  7,  1897,  Rev.  Edward  Jacob  officiated  at  Wan- 
atah until  September,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Raymond 
Vernimont,  C.  PP.  S.,  who  also  has  charge  of  the  mission  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  at  Hamlet,  in  Starke  county;  the  mission  of  St.  Mar- 
tin, at  LaCrosse,  in  Laporte  county,  and  the  mission  of  St.  Pat- 
rick, at  Walkerton,  St.  Joseph  county. 

The  church  property  comprises  forty  acres  of  land,  which  land 
was  donated  by  a  Mr.  Tucker  for  the  use  of  the  church  society  and 
its  orphans  as  well  as  for  school  purposes.  The  school  is  under 
charge  of  three  Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood,  who  give  excellent 
instruction  to  twenty-four  pupils.  There  are  some  debts  yet  rest- 
ing on  this  place;  still,  with  the  present  good  will  of  the  people, 
hope  can  be  entertained  of  soon  wiping  the  debt  out,  although 
Father  Edward,  for  his  short  stay  at  Wanatah,  did  remarkably 
well  in  putting  accounts  on  a  good  financial  basis.  Father  Verni- 
mont, the  present  pastor,  has  also  been  very  active  in  this  particu- 
lar, as  well  as  in  the  performance  of  his  spiritual  duties. 

WARRICK     COUNTY. 

St.  John's  Church. — The  initiatory  steps  toward  the  erection 
of  this  church  were  taken  in  1868  by  a  few  German  settlers  in  the 
western  part  of  the  county,  who,  previous  to   that  time,  attended 

(472r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

services  at  St.  Patrick's  church  in  Vanderburj^  county.  The  cor- 
ner-stone was  laid  by  Rev.  Charles  Exel,  of  St.  Wendel,  Novem- 
ber 9,  1868,  who  also,  on  the  completion  of  the  building,  dedicated 
it  during  the  early  part  of  1869.  From  that  time  the  congregation 
was  attended  successively  by  the  above  Rev.  E.xel,  Rev.  Ferd  Vief- 
haus  and  Rev.  F.  X.  Girolt,  from  Evansville,  until  1875,  when  it 
received  its  first  resident  pastor  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Ale.x  Koesters. 
The  most  important  event  of  the  latter's  administration  was  the 
organization  of  a  school  and  of  the  building  of  a  parsonage.  Upon 
his  appointment  to  another  charge,  during  the  latter  portion  of 
1877,  St.  John's  was  administered  to  by  Rev.  John  McCabe  from 
February  17  to  October  13,  1878,  when  the  rector,  Rev.  Clement 
J.  Conrad,  took  charge  of  the  parish.  He  remained  from  October 
13,  1878,  to  November  5,  1887;  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Theodore 
Mesher,  from  April  15,  1888,  to  July,  1888;  then  Rev.  Charles 
Strieker  came  and  remained  from  August  5,  1888,  to  June  15,  1890. 
During  his  residence  in  this  parish  he  introduced  the  Benedictine 
Sisters  and  erected  the  first  school-house  in  1889,  and  also 
attended  to  outside  mission  work.  Following  Father  Strieker  came 
Rev.  Edmond  J.  Schmitt,  who  remained  from  August  3,  1890, 
until  February  i,  1896.  During  his  pastorate  he  erected  the  beau- 
tiful and  imposing  brick  and  stone  church,  which  is  a  high  model 
in  architecture.  It  commands  a  splendid  view  of  the  surrounding 
country  and  it  is  a  credit  to  the  taste  of  the  pastor  and  is  the  pride 
of  the  parishioners.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Rev.  Father 
Dickmann,  of  Evansville,  December  19,  1894,  and  was  dedicated, 
by  Bishop  Chatard,  May  25,  1895.  The  number  of  families  is 
about  sixty-five.  There  are  two  Benedictine  Sisters  in  charge  of 
the  school,  which  is  under  the  direct  guidance  and  care  of  the  res- 
ident priest.  The  enrolment  of  pupils  is  about  thirty-three.  On 
account  of  failing  health  Father  Schmitt  was  obliged  to  relinquish 
his  work  in  the  parish,  and  Rev.  G.  H.  Moss  assumed  charge  on 
Ash  Monday,  February  19,   1896,  and  is  the  present  pastor. 

WASHINGTON,    DAVIESS    COUNTY. 

St.  Simon's  Church,  Washington,  is  noted  as  one  of  the  oldest, 
strongest  and  wealthiest  Catholic  organizations  in  the  state.      This 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

influential  society  had  its  inception  near  the  beginning  of  the  cen- 
tury, when,  in  the  year  1819,  a  few  Catholic  families,  who  had 
settled  in  the  vicinity,  were  visited  by  Bishop  Flaget  and  united 
in  a  body  for  divine  worship.  The  parish  was  sparse  and  scat- 
tered, and  religious  services  intermittent  and  irregular.  Ten  years 
later,  in  1829,  the  spiritual  impulses  of  the  scattered  members  of 
the  Catholic  society  were  accentuated  and  given  a  new  vigor  by 
the  visit  of  Father  John  Abell,  from  the  diocese  of  Bardstown, 
Ky.,  now  Louisville,  who,  in  June  of  that  year,  preached  the  jubi- 
lee in  Washington.  During  this  time  and  until  1837  the  Catho- 
lics of  this  vicinity  attended  services  at  St.  Peter's,  Montgomery, 
Daviess  county.  In  this  latter  year  the  little  society  was  placed 
under  the  spiritual  control  of  Rev.  Simon  P.  Lalumiere,  and  the 
next  year,  1838,  a  house  of  worship  built.  This  old  church  was 
in  constant  use  for  nearly  half  a  century  and  was  torn  down  a  few 
years  ago  to  give  place  for  the  present  magnificent  church-edifice  at 
Washington.  The  early  years  of  this  church  were  years  of  strug- 
gle. In  1840  twelve  pews  accommodated  the  worshipers.  The 
growth  of  the  church  was  slow  but  constant,  and  was  swelled  year 
by  year  by  the  addition  of  new  families,  until  to-day  the  congre- 
gation of  St.  Simons  numbers  more  than  300  families,  among 
whom  are  many  representatives  of  the  wealth,  culture  and  refine- 
ment of  the  city,  and  the  church  organization  is  not  only  very 
strong  financially  but  is  a  power  for  good  in  the  community, 
exerting  a  great  and  constantly  increasing  influence  in  the  society 
of  the  city. 

Following  faithfully  in  the  footsteps  of  the  pioneer  missionary, 
Father  Lalumiere,  the  following  pastors  have  served  this  congrega- 
tion: Revs.  Anthony  Parrott,  H.  Dupontavice,  John  McDermott, 
P.  Hyland,  J.  B.  Chasse,  John  Gueguen,  Hugo  Peythieu  and 
John  W.  Doyle. 

St.  Simon's  church  is  situated  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Hefron  and  Third  streets,  its  main  facade  and  entrance  being  on 
the  former  street.  Near  the  front,  on  Third  street,  is  a  side 
entrance.  In  point  of  architecture  the  edifice  is  a  pleasing  com- 
bination of  the  Gothic  and  the  Circle,  the  roof  having  the  distinct- 
ive lines   of   the  former  and  the  windows  and  arches  a  graceful 

(474r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

blending  of  the  two,  constructed  from  plans  b}-  James  J.  Egan,  of 
Chicago.  The  ground  space  of  the  church  is  130  feet  four  inches 
by  fifty-five  feet  ten  inches.  On  the  southeast  corner  is  the  mass- 
ive tower,  with  an  elevation  of  115  feet  and  surmounted  by  a 
golden  cross.  On  the  east  side  is  the  vestry,  i8.\  22  feet,  and  on 
the  west  the  chapel  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  i8x  34  feet.  The 
sanctuary  is  25  x  18  feet.  The  interior  of  the  church  presents  a 
noble  and  harmonious  appearance,  and  the  plan  is  such  as  to  create 
the  impression  of  greater  size  than  a  view  of  the  exterior  would 
suggest.  The  first  appearance  upon  entering  is  one  of  much  effect- 
iveness, and  the  eye  is  charmed  and  soothed  by  the  noble  per- 
spective, which  is  beautifully  strengthened  and  softened  by  the  sub- 
dued light  from  the  magnificent  windows.  The  "harmonious  effect 
of  these  windows  is  particularly  striking,  creating  at  once  upon  the 
beholder  a  feeling  of  proper  reverence  for  the  holy  spot.  The 
first  windows  noticeable  upon  entering  the  vestibule  are  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Joseph  and  the  Blessed  Virgin.  On  the  right  side 
of  the  hall  the  first  window  is  a  gift  of  Win.  M.  Hayes;  second, 
memorial  of  Mrs.  Anna  Cabel;  third,  gift  of  James  McMullen; 
fourth,  gift  of  Alice  Maher;  fifth,  gift  of  the  sodality  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary;  sixth,  gift  of  Miss  Alice  Foster;  seventh,  gift  of  Mrs. 
Harriet  Murphy;  eighth,  gift  of  Anna  Donita  Wells.  Lighting  the 
altar,  and  rendering  especially  conspicuous  the  rear  of  the  church, 
is  a  magnificent  window,  /x  16  feet,  the  gift  of  Rev.  Hugo  Pey- 
thieu,  a  former  pastor  of  St.  Simon's.  On  the  left,  the  windows 
are  inscribed  as  follows:  Jacob  Zinkan,  Hugh  McKernan,  Ernest 
A.  Crosson,  Altar  society,  memorial  to  Wni.  McTegart,  Sr. , 
memorial  to  William  McTegart,  Jr.,  St.  Simon's  T.  A.  society, 
William  Brady.  The  tower  windows  were  donated  by  M.  F. 
Burke,  Mrs.  Thomas  Dean,  Thomas  Dean,  Michael  Doyle,  Mollie 
Flynn,  Rev.  Thos.  McLaughlin,  Rev.  Patrick  Rower,  Joseph  B. 
Graham,  and  Robt.  C.  Graham.  Over  the  principal  entrance  are 
two  large  windows,  memorials  to  the  late  James  Campbell  and 
Sarah  Campbell.  Father  Doyle  furnished  the  windows  for  the 
vestry  and  the  chapel. 

St.  Simon's  church  contains  160  pews  and  has  a  seating  capac- 
ity of   700.      The  building  was   completed   in    1886  at   a   cost   of 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

$25,000.  The  dedicator}'  services  were  presided  over  by  Bishop 
Chatard  and  attended  by  clergy  from  all  parts  of  the  state,  and 
instructive  lectures  were  delivered  by  Chancellor  Dennis  O'Don- 
aghue  and  others.  The  parish  owns  considerable  valuable  prop- 
erty adjacent  to  the  church,  comprising  the  pastor's  residence,  the 
parochial  school  and  the  school  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence. 

St.  Mary's  Church  (or  the  German  church  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception),  at  Washington,  dates  its  formation  from  about  1874. 
For  several  years  prior  to  that  year  it  had  been  evident  that  the 
German  Catholics  of  the  town  required  a  church-building  of  their 
own,  but  it  was  not  until  the  year  named  that  active  steps  were 
taken  for  the  erection  of  such  an  edifice.  Forty  German  families 
then  formed  themselves  into  a  congregation  and  raised  a  suitable 
structure  of  brick,  at  a  cost  of  $13,000.  The  erection  began  in 
the  spring,  and,  although  unfinished,  was  used  for  divine  service 
the  following  December.  In  January,  1872,  the  congregation  was 
fully  organized  by  the  Rev.  John  P.  Sassel,  who  also  started  a 
German  school.  He  labored  with  heroic  self-denial  for  the  wel- 
fare of  his  little  liock  until  his  lamented  death,  August  10,  1879, 
and  to  his  earnest  work  the  church  is  indebted  for  its  permanent 
prosperity. 

Father  Sassel  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  L.  M.  S.  Burk- 
hardt  in  September,  1879,  and  this  worthy  priest  erected  the 
school-building  in  1 881,  at  a  cost  of  $4,000,  and  a  parsonage,  in 
1885-86,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  This  building  is  of  brick,  is  two 
stories  high,  and  contains  eight  rooms.  Father  Burkhardt  was 
followed,  in  October,  1889,  by  Rev.  William  Bultmann,  in  whose 
time  the  interior  of  the  church  was  frescoed,  and  a  new  organ 
introduced.  Father  Bultmann  e.xpired  February  14,  1893,  and 
April  3,  of  the  same  year,  the  present  worthy  incumbent.  Rev. 
Francis  Torbeck,  was  appointed  to  the  pastorate.  Father  Tor- 
beck  has  also  labored  effectively  for  the  good  of  the  congregation, 
and  has  placed  a  furnace  in  the  church  and  the  parsonage,  and 
inclosed  the  grounds  with  an  iron-rail  fence.  He  has  also  enlarged 
the  school  to  three  rooms,  which  are  in  charge  of  three  Sisters  of 
Providence,  who  give  instruction   to  about    160  pupils.      The  con- 

(476r 


IN    THK    STATE    or    INDIANA. 

gregation   of   the   church    numbers    at    present  about  i6o  families, 
and  the  church  is  practically  out  of  debt. 

St.  John's  cemetery,  one  mile  north  of  the  city,  is  owned 
jointly  by  the  congregations  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Simon,  comprises 
forty  acres,  ten  of  which  were  dedicated  by  Bishop  Chatard  Sep- 
tember 15,   1895,  and  is  free  from  debt. 

WHITING,    LAKE  COUNTY, 

Sacred  Heart  Church. — The  history  of  this  congregation  may 
be  briefly  narrated  as  follows:  The  first  congregation  of  the  Sa- 
cred Heart  church  at  Whiting  was  gathered  together  by  Father 
KroU,  of  Chestertown,  Ind. ,  in  the  fall  of  1890,  and  January  26th, 
1 89 1,  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  M.  J.  Byrne,  arrived  from  the  cur- 
acy of  the  cathedral  at  Fort  Wayne  to  take  charge  of  this  scat- 
tered settlement;  services  were  held  every  other  Sunday  at  various 
places — at  one  time  in  the  old  school  building  in  Oklahoma,  at  an- 
other in  the  only  hall  in  Whiting,  over  Green's  saloon.  At  that 
time  there  were  only  nineteen  houses  in  the  town.  Property  was 
secured  in  the  little  grove  on  Center  street,  then  a  picnic  ground, 
for  the  erection  of  a  church;  this  property  was  increased  to  the 
amount  of  250  feet  front,  and,  under  the  direction  of  Father  Byrne, 
on  March  19,  1891,  ground  was  broken  for  the  present  edifice, 
which  was  completed  for  dedication  on  May  24th  of  the  same  year. 
The  church  committee  consisted  of  Thomas  Moylan,  John  Bucz- 
kowski  and  Matt  Keirans.  The  day  of  dedication  was  one  long  to 
be  remembered,  as  the  great  concourse  of  people  attending  from 
neighboring  towns  significantly  testified.  The  church  was  ble  sed 
by  Vicar-General  Brammer,  of  F'ort  Wayne,  and  was  given  on  that 
occasion  the  name  of  Sacred  Heart.  The  membership  of  the 
church  and  its  surroundings  grew  very  rapidly  under  the  able  man- 
agement of  Father  Byrne.  A  set  of  new  altars  were  at  once  added, 
a  fine  bell  was  procured  and  hung  in  the  belfry  and  services  were 
held  there  every  Sunday. 

Orient  hall  was  built  as  a  place  of  convenience  for  the  people 
to  hold  fairs,  meetings  and  exercises  in,  and  old  settlers  still  well 
remember  the  enjoyment  had  at  the  first  fair,  at  which  was  realized 
$2,600. 

29  (477) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  old  hall  was  destroyed  by  fire  April  i,  1897,  but  a  new- 
hall  was  immediately  erected  at  a  cost  of  $3,500.  This  building 
is  of  brick,  and  is  two  stories  high — the  second  or  upper  floor  con- 
stituting a  hall,  and  the  first  or  lower  floor  being  divided  into  three 
rooms  for  school  purposes,  under  the  name  of  St.  Michael's  school. 

In  1894  the  lots  were  graded  and  filled,  an  iron  fencing  was 
put  in,  sidewalks  were  laid  and  the  pastoral  residence  was  built. 
The  congregation  grew  with  the  town  in  size  and  importance.  The 
present  number  of  families  is  i  10,  the  total  number  of  souls  750. 
In  his  seven  years'  service  Father  Byrne  has  had  seventy  converts 
and  434  baptisms.  St.  Michael's  school  has  an  enrolment  of  2  1 3  chil- 
dren under  six  Sisters  of  Providence.  Six  different  church  societies 
are  thriving,  and  doing  good  both  spiritually  and  charitably.  The 
first  child  baptized  in  the  new  church  was  the  little  daughter  of 
John  Buczkowski,  Helen  Wanda.  The  first  wedding  was  that  of 
William  Hoctor  and  Eliza  McKeiver;  the  first  funeral  was  that  of 
Thomas  O'Neil.  The  first  choir  was  a  children's  choir — Mrs.  John 
Neville  organist;  the  choir  afterward  was  given  over  to  the  young 
ladies,  with  Miss  Kitty  Garvin  organist.  Father  Byrne,  the  first 
pastor,  who  is  still  with  the  congregation,  having  been  foremost  in 
every  good  work  that  has  led  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  people  and 
the  church  entrusted  to  his  care. 

However,  on  June  i,  1897,  the  parish  was  divided,  the  Slavs 
and  Bohemians  going  to  the  new  congregation,  leaving  the  present 
membership  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at  iio  families,  with  213  school 
children  and  six  teachers,  as  mentioned  above. 

WINAMAC,    PULASKI     COUNTY. 

•  St.  Peter's  Church,  at  Winamac,  was  erected  in  1861,  under 
the  advice  of  Rev.  Father  Hamilton,  of  Logansport.  Prior  to 
that  year,  possibly  as  far  back  as  1850,  mass  had  been  said  by  vis- 
iting clergymen  from  Logansport  at  the  home  of  Mark  D.  Falvey, 
whose  family,  together  with  three  others — -those  of  James  Mulva- 
ney,  John  Hoff,  August  Kratz  and  Michael  Falvey,  constituted  the 
Catholic  population  of  Winamac.  About  i860  Mark  D.  Falvey 
began  soliciting  funds  with  which  to  erect  a  Catholic  church- 
building,  and  succeeded  in  collecting  about  $400  from  the  residents 

(478r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

of  the  place,  the  CathoHcs,  of  course,  subscribing  as  Hberally  as  their 
means  permitted.  A  trip  up  the  railroad  as  far  as  LaCrosse,  made 
by  Rev.  Hamilton  and  Mr.  Falvey,  resulted  in  securing  $40  addi- 
tional. Two  lots  were  then  purchased  and  another  was  donated 
and  a  small  frame  church  was  erected.  When  services  were  first 
held  in  this  modest  frame  structure,  it  was  not  plastered  and  the 
seats  were  simply  boards  or  planks,  but  the  congregation  was  out 
of  debt,  and  as  circumstances  permitted  the  diminutive  edifice 
was  completed. 

No  proper  records  of  the  work  of  the  church  were  made  until 
1867,  when  Rev.  Henricus  Koenig  was  installed  as  pastor,  and 
from  that  date  forward  full  data  of  the  affairs  of  the  church  have 
been  placed  on  record.  Father  Koenig  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  A. 
Reichert,  and  he  in  turn  by  Rev.  T.  Wittmer,  who  erected  the 
school-building.  In  October,  1876,  came  Rev.  Theobald  Schoch, 
who  was  succeeded  in  December,  1880,  by  Rev.  Christian  Nigsch, 
under  whose  auspices  was  erected  the  present  brick  church,  at  a 
cost  of  $10,000  to  $12,000,  one  fair  alone,  given  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  funds  in  aid  of  this  commendable  project,  realizing  a  net 
profit  of  $2,300.  Rev.  Kilian  Schill  followed  Father  Nigsch  in 
December,  1885,  and  continued  in  charge  until  December,  1887, 
and  he,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  O.  Missler,  and  he 
by  Rev.  Joseph  Uphaus  in  1897. 

YAXKEETOWX,    WARRICK    COUNTY. 

St.  Rupert's  Parish  was  for  some  years  in  charge  of  the  Bene- 
dictines of  St.  Meinrad,  and  the  following  roster,  gleaned  from  the 
record  of  the  parish,  gives  the  succession  of  the  pastors  who 
attended:  Revs.  Henry  Hug,  1864;  Chrysostome  Foffa.  1866; 
Fintan  Mundwiler,  from  1866  to  May,  1867;  Revs.  Martin  and 
Kintrup,  a  short  time  each,  from  1868  to  1869;  Rev.  Henry  Hug, 
again,  from  1870  to  1871;  Revs.  Fred  Mueller,  1871  to  1873;  J.  W. 
Book,  1874  to  1886,  who  made  great  improvements  in  the  parish; 
next  in  charge  were  Revs.  T.  S.  Mesker,  1886  to  1888;  Geo.  J. 
Loesch,  1888;  Joseph  Villinger,  1888;  Mundwiler  and  J.  M.  Zogl- 
mann,  1888  to  1891;  J.  Hildebrand,  1891;  Edwin  J.  P.  Schmitt, 
1892  to  1893;  Charles  J.  Wagner,   1893  to  the  present  time,  1898, 

"1479) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

The  Rev.  Henry  Hug,  O.  S.  B.,  the  first  visiting  pastor  to  the 
thirteen  Catholic  famihes  Hving  in  Yankeetown,  said  mass  in  1864 
in  private  houses,  as  opportunity  offered.  St.  Rupert's  church, 
40  X  26  feet,  a  frame  building,  was  erected  in  1865,  and  was  blessed 
by  the  Rev.  Chrysostome  Foffa,  O.  S.  B.,  January  2,  1866.  In 
1880,  the  congregation  having  grown  too  large  for  the  building, 
the  church  was  considerably  enlarged  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Book,  who 
then  had  charge  of  the  mission.  The  families  in  the  parish  at 
present  number  thirty,  or  i  50  souls.  The  priest's  home  was  erected 
in  1893  and  the  school  was  built  in  1894  under  Rev.  Charles  Wag- 
ner's administration,  and  the  fair  cash  value  of  the  Catholic  prop- 
erty of  St.  Rupert's  parish  is  placed  at  $4,000. 

The  mission  at  Newburg  is  eight  miles  distant  from  St.  Rupert's 
parish,  and  there  Father  Wagner  has  charge  of  twenty-five  fam- 
ilies. The  church  property  there  is  valued  at  $3,500.  The  Boon- 
ville  mission  has  a  membership  of  twelve  families,  and  the  value 
of  the  church  property  is  placed  at  $7,000.  The  patron  saint  is 
St.  Clements,  while  the  patron  saint  of  Newburg  mission  is  St. 
John  the  Baptist. 

YORKVILLE,  DEARBORN  COUNTY. 

St.  Martin's  Parish. — The  records  of  this  parish  date  from 
1852,  and  here  Father  Martin  Stahl  was  the  first  pastor  to  admin- 
ister to  the  people.  The  first  church,  which  is  of  brick,  was 
erected  in  1851  and  is  still  in  use. 

This  parish  was  a  mission  of  St.  Paul's  at  New  Alsace,  Ind., 
and  also  of  Dover.  In  1853,  Father  Andrew  Bennett  acted  as 
priest  for  a  short  time,  and  then  Father  Stapf  came  and  officiated 
until  1854.  From  June,  1854,  until  August,  1856,  the  Rev.  Jos. 
Neuber  officiated;  then  Father  A.  Pinkers  from  August,  1856,  to 
April  26,  1858.  Father  Henry  Koering  was  pastor  for  a  short 
time,  or  until  July,  1858,  and  Father  Weinzoepfel  from  August, 
1858,  to  January,  1866;  the  next  priest  was  Father  Duddenhausen, 
from  April,  1866,  to  September,  1870;  the  next  attendant  was 
Rev.  Peter  Siebmann,  from  October,  1870,  to  November  20,  1870, 
His  successor  was  Rev,  Victor  Schnell,  who  remained  from 
November  29,  1870,  to  March  25,    187 1;  next  came  Rev.    H.    J. 

(480) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Seibertz,  who  built  the  present  commodious  school  in  1872. 
(Father  Benns,  O.  S.  B.,  had  charge  during  the  summer  of  1875, 
when  Father  Seibertz  was  in  Europe.)  Father  Seibertz  returned 
in  November,  1875,  and  remained  until  June,  1877.  Father 
Schoentrup  was  then  in  charge,  but  only  for  a  short  time.  The 
next  priest  who  had  the  care  of  the  people  was  Rev.  B.  H. 
Brueggemann,  of  St.  John's  parish  at  Dover,  who  attended  from 
September,  1877,  to  July,  1886.  He  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  A. 
Daenhoffer,  the  first  resident  pastor,  who  remained  till  February, 
20,  1892,  and  who  erected  the  priest's  home  at  a  cost  of  $2,500, 
in  1888.  Then  came  the  present  able  priest.  Rev.  John  H.  Boer- 
sig,  who  has  since  had  charge  of  the  parish. 


(481) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

BISHOP  BRUTE,  THE  FATHER  OF  FREE-SCHOOL  EDUCATION  IN   INDIANA 
CATHOLIC  EDUCATION  AND  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOLS. 

THE  honor  and  credit  of  inaugurating  and  establishing  free- 
school  education  in  Indiana  belong  to  the  Catholic  church; 
and  the  church  dignitary  who  was  personally  and  zealously  active 
in  bringing  it  about  was  Rt.  Rev.  Wm.  G.  Brute,  the  first  bishop 
of  the  old  diocese  of  Vincennes. 

This  great  and  good  man,  among  the  most  discouraging  sur- 
roundings, and  against  the  opinion  and  advice  of  his  co-religionists, 
and  also  against  the  expressed  judgment  of  his  non-Catholic  neigh- 
bors and  acquaintances,  practically  gave  rise  to  the  system  by 
making,  in  1834,  the  schools  which  he  had  just  established  at  Vin- 
cennes free  to  all — whether  Catholic  or  non-Catholic;  absolutely 
free — without  any  reservation  whatsoever. 

This  start  for  free  education  was  made,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, more  than  twenty  years  before  the  present  system  of  free 
public  schools  was  established  in  Indiana. 

A  bishop  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Indiana  leading  in  a  work 
of  this  character  constitutes  a  picture  strangely  in  contrast  with 
the  bold  assumptions  and  false  charges  of  some  non-Catholic  and 
sectarian  writers  and  ministers,  who  declare  that  the  Catholic 
church  can  not  bear  the  light,  and  that  therefore  it  is  opposed  to  all 
education  and  enlightenment  among  the  masses  as  dangerous  to  its 
schemes,  to  the  success  of  which  dense  ignorance  is  a  prime 
essential.  Nothing  could  possibly  be  more  unfounded  or  injurious 
than  such  false  witness  borne  against  an  institution  which  alone 
has  the  credit  of  having  kept  burning  throughout  the  long  centuries 
of  threatened  barbaric  ascendency  the  lamp  of  intellectual  enlight- 
enment and  christian  culture. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

The  work  of  educatinj^  and  christianizing  the  masses,  carried 
on  by  the  Catholic  church  from  its  very  beginning,  is  happily 
exemplified  in  this  day  by  the  attitude  of  Catholics,  even  in  the  state 
of  Indiana.  That  religion  and  secular  education  may  go  hand  in 
hand  for  the  betterment  of  all,  the  Catholic  people  cheerfully  sub- 
mit to  being  taxed  for  the  maintenance  of  Catholic  schools,  while 
at  the  same  time,  in  common  with  their  non-Catholic  fellow  citi- 
zens, they  contribute  their  quota  to  support  the  public  schools, 
which  they  can  not  use,  thereby  being  taxed  double  in  support  of  a 
thing  to  which  they  are  falsley  accused  of  being  in  constant  and 
bitter  opposition. 

To  thus  pay  a  double  tax  for  the  supp)ort  of  education  implies 
both  a  high  sense  of  duty  and  a  very  keen  appreciation  of  enlight- 
enment. It  also  tells  of  a  moral  obligation  c  nscientiously  recognized 
and  discharged  by  Catholics,  which  finds  a  counterpart  in  no  other 
christian  community.  Millions  upon  millions  of  dollars  would  not 
be  annually  expended  for  Catholic  education  in  the  United  States 
unless  the  consciences  of  the  Catholic  people  were  alive  to  the 
necessity  for  such  education,  looking  as  well  to  the  eternal  sal- 
vation of  the  youth  as  to  maintaining  respect  for  authority  and 
law  among  the  masses  by  the  enlightenment  of  the  conscience 
through  proper  religious  instruction  imparted  to  the  children  in 
the  schools. 

It  is  the  one  ugly  stain  upon  the  page  of  American  history — 
the  crime  of  man  against  man — that  the  injustice  of  doubly  taxing 
Catholics — taxing  them  for  something  they  can  not  use — is  not 
wiped  out,  is  not  righted,  and  righted  at  once,  by  the  American 
people. 

In  Canada,  on  our  northern  border,  there  is  a  j^eople  the  rul- 
ing majority  of  whom,  from  the  standpoints  of  government  and 
adopted  laws,  might  be  said  to  inherit  more  directly  than  do  the 
people  of  the  United  States  the  spirit  of  religious  persecution  and 
proscription;  yet  the  manner  of  control  and  management  of  the 
public-school  system  of  that  country  is  so  considerate  and  fair  to 
all  classes  and  creeds,  and  so  much  on  that  account  to  be  pre- 
ferred before  ours,  that  the  wonder  is  we  have  not  long  since,  in  a 
spirit  of  fairness,  adopted  it. 

"(483) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

One  of  the  leading  features  of  Canadian  laws  touching  the 
expenditure  of  the  money  collected  by  taxation  for  school  purposes 
is,  that  each  body  of  Christians  is  entitled  to  and  receives  its  pro- 
portionate share  of  said  money,  while  the  general  government,  in 
taking  care  that  this  money  is  properly  expended,  requires  only 
that  obedience  to  reasonable  regulations  be  rendered,  and  certain 
fixed  educational  standards  be  maintained  and  attained  to.  These 
things  fulfilled,  each  form  of  religion  is  free  to  be  taught  in  the 
schools,  subject  only  to  the  choice  of  the  people  adhering  to  it. 

In  Canada,  therefore,  the  Catholic  people  are  not  deprived  of 
the  benefits  of  state  aid  in  matters  of  education,  nor  are  they 
placed  in  the  false  and  unjust  position  of  being  antagonistic  to 
general  education.  These  things  being  so,  a  better  feeling  obtains 
among  all  classes  there,  since,  on  this  question,  considerably 
vexed  among  us  in  the  States,  there  is  no  discrimination  in  favor 
of  or  against  any  class  or  sect. 

Neither  in  this  country,  in  Canada,  nor  in  any  other  country 
in  the  world,  are  Catholics  in  favor  of  ignorance  and  opposed  to 
enlightenment.  No  man  will  assert  the  contrary  who  cares  any- 
thing for  his  standing,  or  who  has  any  character  to  jeopardize  by 
such  rashness.  Those  only  who  are  victims  of  an  inherited  preju- 
dice and  who  care  little  for  the  truth,  will  be  guilty  of  thus  bearing 
false  witness  against  their  neighbors  and  against  the  Catholic 
church,  to  which  the  world  owes  so  much. 

In  the  language  of  an  Indiana  priest.  Catholics  are  not  opposed 
to  universal  education  or  to  taxation  for  schools,  or  to  compulsory 
education,  or  to  methods  and  contrivances  of  whatever  kind  by 
which  knowledge  and  enlightenment  may  be  diffused  through 
the  masses  of  the  people.  In  this  direction  Catholics  are  willing 
and  anxious  to  go  as  far  as  others,  but  they,  moreover,  believe  and 
hold  religious  knowledge  to  be  the  primal  and  most  essential  ele- 
ment of  true  human  culture,  and,  consequently,  that  it  should  form 
the  basis  of  instruction  and  discipline  in  the  school,  as  in  the  fam- 
ily and  the  church.  The  work  of  molding  and  developing  human 
character  is  difficult  enough  when  these  three  centers  of  influence 
are  in  harmony  and  co-operation;  but  to  bring  them  into  antago- 
nism is  to  undermine  the  work  of  each. 


IN    THK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

The  piireh'  secular  character  of  the  public  schools  is  the  result 
of  circuiTJstances,  and  not  of  a  deliberate  purpose;  and  its  justifica- 
tion is  sought  for  on  the  grounds  of  expediency  and  not  in  principle. 
But  this  does  not  affect  the  necessary  tendency  of  such  education 
to  produce  religious  indifference  and,  consecjuently,  destroy  the 
power  and  vital  influence  of  religion.  A  calm  and  dispassionate 
view  of  the  state  of  religion  in  this  country,  and  of  the  causes  by 
which  it  has  been  brought  about,  is,  of  itself,  enough  to  convince 
an  unprejudiced  inquirer  that  this  assertion  rests  upon  a  solid  basis 
of  fact. 

Hence  the  reasons  for  the  existence  of  parochial  schools  may 
be  briefly  summed  up  as  follows:  Education  is  the  cultivation  of 
the  heart  as  well  as  of  the  intellect.  Therefore,  mere  instruction 
in  branches  of  knowledge  cannot  be  called  education,  unless  it  be 
interwoven  with  religious  teaching.  Consequently,  Catholic  chil- 
dren cannot  be  thoroughly  educated  unless  they  frequent  Catholic 
schools,  where,  by  breathing  a  Catholic  atmosphere,  under  Catholic 
teachers,  with  Catholic  companions,  and  by  exclusively  Catholic 
training,  they  are  prepared  to  encounter  the  dangers  of  the  world 
into  which  they  will  eventually  be  thrown,  and  fitted  to  merit  the 
rewards  of  the  world  to  come. 

In  the  Catholic  schools  of  Indiana  there  is,  according  to  figures 
given  in  the  authorized  almanacs  for  1898,  an  average  daily  attend- 
ance of  25, 134  pupils.  These  figures,  for  reasons  purely  local  and 
parochial,  are  not  only  very  conservative,  but  actually  low.  A 
more  correct  estimate  would  be  arrived  at  by  the  addition  of  at 
least  one-third,  making  the  total  number  of  children  attending  the 
Catholic  schools  of  Indiana  just  33,512.  The  cost  of  educating 
these  33,512  children,  not  including  the  large  outlay  for  school- 
buildings,  is  quite  an  expense  to  Catholics,  since  they  assume  it  in 
addition  to  the  payment  of  their  regularly  assessed  taxes  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  public  schools  of  the  state.  A  low  estimate  of  the  annual 
expense  for  educating  public-school  pupils  is  $14  per  capita.  At 
this  rate  the  additional  burden  which  Catholics  in  Indiana  are  annu- 
ally called  upon  to  carry  for  the  education  of  their  children  is  the 
large  sum  of  $469, 168.  This  sum,  necessary  for  the  education  of 
the  33,512  children,  if  drawn  from  the  public-school  funds,  which 

^485) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  necessity  would  be  the  case  were  there  no  Catholic  schools, 
would  shift  the  burden  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  general  tax -payers. 
In  consequence  there  would  be  a  small-sized  rebellion  among  thetn, 
since,  even  as  things  stand  now,  there  is  no  little  grumbling  that 
such  large  amounts  are  demanded  and  spent  in  support  of  the  state 
schools. 

And  yet  the  majority  of  non-Catholics  are  opposed  to  the 
existence  of  Catholic  parochial  schools,  unmindful  of  the  fact 
that,  under  the  present  unjust  arrangements,  these  schools  are  a 
great  saving  to  the  general  tax-payers,  while  they  at  the  same  time 
are  the  great  conservators  of  good  morals  and  the  inculcators  of 
unquestioned  respect  for  authority  and  law.  The  saving  of  the 
mere  cost  of  educating  these  children,  the  sum  of  $469, 168,  is  not 
all  the  saving  by  any  means.  The  tax-payers  are  saved  the  great 
expense  of  building  and  maintaining  schools  to  accommodate  these 
33,512  children,  which  would  run  away  up  into  the  millions  of  dol- 
lars, if  we  make  the  estimate  on  the  basis  of  the  cost  of  the  public- 
school  buildings  in  cities. 

Whether  it  be  on  considerations  of  this  kind,  or  on  the  higher 
grounds  of  principle  and  love  for  pure  religion  and  good  morals,  it 
is  but  the  truth  to  admit  and  aver  that  a  very  respectable  minority 
of  non-Catholics  are  not  opposed  to  the  existence  of  Catholic 
parochial  schools,  or  to  the  principles  and  aims  of  Catholic  educa- 
tion. On  the  contrary,  they  favor  the  system  and  they  recognize 
the  necessity  for  its  existence  if  the  youth  of  the  land  are  to  be 
properly  equipped  to  fight  the  battles  of  life  from  the  standpoints 
of  Christianity  and  good  citizenship. 

The  thoughtful  and  fair-minded  among  the  general  public  have 
long  since  recognized  the  great  benefits  derived  from  education 
conducted  according  to  Catholic  methods.  Hence  the  large  num- 
ber of  non-Catholic  pupils  who  attend  Catholic  academies,  col- 
leges and  universities.  The  young  lady  who  nowadays  can  not 
refer  to  her  training  as  evidenced  by  her  diploma  from  this  or  that 
convent  is  at  a  decided  disadvantage.  Her  character  and  stand- 
ing are  surely  not  heightened  by  the  absence  of  such  diploma. 

Good  habits,  good  morals,  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  pure 
religion,  if  not  of  the  gift  of  true  faith  and  the  highest  intellectual 

(486r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

training  and  culture,  arc  undoubtedly  among  the  very  important 
considerations  which  induce  parents,  not  wholly  consumed  by 
prejudice  (ignorance),  to  send  their  children  to  Catholic  educational 
institutions. 

As  the  object  aimed  at  in  this  chapter  is  mainly  to  give  some 
facts  touching  Catholic  parochial  schools  in  the  state  of  Indiana, 
the  following  reference  to  parishes  supporting  schools,  by  whom 
taught,  and  the  estimated  number  of  pupils  attencling  (1898), 
although  incomplete,  will  be  to  the  point  and  of  interest: 

ACADEMY  p.  O. ,  ALLEX  COUNTY. 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  school,  Academy  P.  O.,  Allen  county, 
Ind. — This  school,  erected  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  is  a 
one-story  brick  structure,  30x16  feet,  and  is  si.xteen  feet  high. 
It  is  situated  near  the  Auburn  road,  eighty  rods  east  of  the  church. 
It  has  one  class  room  with  a  present  attendance  of  eighty  children. 
Some  of  these  children  live  a  distance  of  over  three  miles  from 
the  school.  One  Sister  of  the  Holy  Cross  is  in  charge  of  the 
school,  which  is  free  to  all  children  of  the  parish;  the  only 
expense  connected  with  heir  attendance  is  the  obligation  to  sup- 
ply fuel  during  the  winter.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the 
school  is  Rev.  A.  E.  Lafontaine. 

ALEXANDRIA,    MADISON  COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  School. — Here  the  present  rector.  Rev.  Joachim 
Baker,  in  1896,  erected  a  substantial  brick  structure,  45  x  65.  The 
same  is  a  two-story  building,  with  basement,  and  is  a  combination 
of  church,  school  and  Sisters'  residence.  The  school,  under  the 
direction  of  Sister  M.  Jovita  of  the  order  of  the  School  Sisters  de 
Notre  Dame,  of  Milwaukee,  was  opened  in  September,  1897.  The 
children  are  taught  in  two  rooms  on  the  first  floor,  which  have  all 
modern  improvements  and  are  well-lighted,  heated  and  ventilated. 
This  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $8,500.  It  is  conducted  as 
a  free  school,  the  salary  of  the  teachers  being  paid  from  the 
church  funds. 

As  all  beginnings  are  hard,  thus  also  here.  The  energy  of 
priest  and  Sisters  will  soon  demonstrate  to  the  parents  the  benefits 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  a  true  Christian  education.  The  hope  is  expressed  that  par- 
ents will  not  only  allow  girls,  but  also  the  boys,  to  complete  their 
course  of  studies,  so  that  the  157  pupils  may  soon  increase  to 
double  the  number  and  that  the  boys  who  need  education  so  much 
in  our  days  may  not  be  denied  by  avaricious  parents  what  they 
need  to  fit  them  for  time  and  eternity. 

ANDERSON,    MADISON    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  School. — The  buildings  now  occupied  for  school 
purposes  in  St.  Mary's  parish  are  merely  temporary.  The  original 
frame  school-house  was  removed  to  give  place  for  the  new  church; 
in  1876  the  old  church  was  converted  into  a  school,  and  this,  in 
turn,  will  be  removed  before  long  to  give  place  to  a  new  school- 
house.  The  two  frame  structures  now  in  use  as  schools  contain 
four  class-rooms  and  can  accommodate  300  children.  The  present 
enrolment  is  266  pupils. 

During  the  first  year  of  its  existence,  the  school  was  taught 
by  lay  teachers;  but  in  1877  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  assumed 
control  of  it,  and  under  their  management  it  has  developed  from 
a  single  class-room  into  a  flourishing  school  of  four  rooms,  employ- 
ing four  teachers.  The  average  annual  expense  for  maintaining 
the  school  is  $850,  which  amotmt  is  taken  from  the  funds  of  the 
congregation,  the  school  being  free.  The  average  expense  for 
each  pupil  is  $4.75.  The  reverend  director  of  the  school  is  Rev. 
D.  J.  Mulcahy. 

ARCOLA,    ALLEN    COUNTY. 

St.  Patrick's  School,  Areola,  Allen  county,  was  erected  in 
1883  by  Rev.  Father  Hartman  at  a  cost  of  $1,560.  It  is  a  one- 
story  brick  structure,  40  x  30  feet,  located  twenty  feet  west  of  the 
church  with  a  main  entrance  on  the  north  side.  It  contains  one 
school-room,  which  has  a  seating  capacity  for  forty  children,  and 
was  occupied  in  1883,  Miss  Wolford  acting  as  teacher.  It  is  now 
taught  by  three  Sisters  of  the  Poor  Handmaids  of  Jesus  Christ, 
who  have  sixty-six  pupils  in  charge.  The  value  of  the  school 
ground  is  $ioo  and  that  of  the  school-house  $1,560.  Rev.  R.  J. 
Pratt  is  the  present  pastor  of  Areola. 

(488) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


ATTICA,     I'OUNTAIN    COUNTY 


St.  Francis' School. — This  school,  under  the  direction  of  Rev. 
Chas.  Lemper,  is  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  of  joliet. 
The  school  numbers  hfty-three  pupils.  It  is  supported  partly  by 
monthly  dues  and  partly  from  the  church  funds.  Since  1887,  the 
last  report,  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  playgrounds  and 
in  the  interior  of  the  building,  so  that  comfort  and  health  of  teach- 
ers and  pupils  are  well  provided  for.  The  consistent  and  system- 
atic training  daily  given  has  proved  a  blessing  to  the  parents  and 
children  of  Attica. 

AVILLA,     NOBLE    COUNTY. 

St.  Augustine's  School. — In  i860  Rev.  H.  Schaefer,  the  first 
resident  priest  in  Avilla,  put  up  a  little  frame  school-house,  at  a  cost 
of  $200,  and  later  built  a  school-house,  16  x  20  feet,  ceiling  seven 
feet  high,  and  in  1868  an  addition  of  fourteen  feet  was  built  to  the 
school.  The  first  teacher  was  a  Mr.  Lette,  who  was  succeeded  by 
Miss  Christina  Romarque,  and  she,  in  turn,  by  H.  Buscher,  John 
Everharde,  E.  Spoth  and  August  Vogeding,  and  then  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Poor  Handmaids  of  Christ.  At  present  the  en- 
rolment is  133  children,  taught  by  the  Sistersof  St.  Francis.  The 
present  two-story  brick  school-house,  28  x  58  feet,  erected  in  1878, 
by  Rev.  D.  Duehmig,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  contains  three  school- 
rooms and  has  a  seating  capacity  for  150  children.  The  average 
annual  outlay  for  the  school,  including  salary  of  teachers,  is  $550, 
which  amount  is  derived  from  monthly  membership  fees  of  St. 
Joseph's  School  society,  supplemented  by  funds  of  church.  The 
school  is  free  to  all  children  of  the  parish,  many  of  whom  attend  it 
from  a  distance  of  three,  four  and  five  miles.  The  average  ex- 
pense per  pupil  is  about  $5.  The  present  value  of  the  school 
ground  is  $300,  and  of  the  building  $3,600.  One-fourth  part  of  the 
school-building  is  reserved  for  dwelling  apartments  of  the  Sisters. 
Rev.  D.  Duehmig,  who  has  had  charge  of  St.  Mary's  congregation 
since  May  12,   1867,  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 


(489j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


BLUFFTON,    WELLS  COUNTY. 


St.  Joseph's  School. — The  property  on  which  this  school-house 
stands  was  purchased,  in  1881,  by  Rev.  F.  Koerdt,  and  consists  of 
two  lots,  with  a  frontage  of  i  16  feet  and  a  depth  of  167  feet.  The 
building  is  a  one-story  frame  structure,  18  x  20  feet,  was  erected  at 
a  cost  of  about  $350,  and  was  originally  used  as  a  private  residence. 

The  school  was  first  opened  in  the  church  and  taught  there  for 
a  few  months,  the  chief  object  being  to  prepare  fifteen  children  for 
first  holy  communion.  From  July,  1881,  to  July,  1883,  it  con- 
tinued to  be  taught  by  the  first  teacher  employed.  Miss  Philomena 
Wolford — at  present  Sister  M.  Joseph,  of  St.  Agnes  convent,  Fond 
du  Lac,  Wis.  The  enrolment  of  pupils  was  twenty-two — eleven 
boys  and  eleven  girls.  The  number  of  pupils  was  small,  while  the 
cost  for  each  was  about  $10  a  year,  an  expense  too  great  for  the 
ten  families  comprising  the  parish  to  defray;  hence,  the  school  was 
discontinued  in  1883.  At  present  Bluffton  is  a  mission,  attended 
once  a  month  from  Sheldon.  The  entire  property  is  free  from 
debt.  The  present  value  of  the  school-ground  is  $1,750,  and  of 
the  school-house,  with  its  appurtenances,  $2,000. 

CEDAR  LAKE,  LAKE  COUNTY. 

This  is  a  "  district  "  school,  but  as  only  Catholic  children 
.attend  and  only  Catholic  teachers  are  employed,  instruction  in 
catechism  and  Bible  history  is  given  daily  by  the  teacher  and  until 
now  the  pastor  has  found  no  difficulty  in  giving  instruction  in  relig- 
ion. There  are  two  school-rooms,  but,  as  only  one  is  occupied,  it 
is  a  convenient  matter  to  assemble  children  for  religious  instruc- 
tion. The  pastor  has  the  say  in  the  selection  of  teacher.  He 
says:  •' Should  this  with  the  privilege  of  Christian  instruction  be 
denied  I  will  start  a  parochial  school."  The  word,  phonic,  top- 
ical and  inductive  methods  are  employed.  The  school  numbers 
thirty-three  boys  and  twenty-three  girls. 

CHESTERTON,    PORTER  COUNTY. 

St.   Patrick's  School   is   a   one-story   brick   structure,    52  x  26 
feet.      It    was   built   in  1888,  by  Rev.  H.  F.  J.  KroU,  at  a   cost  of 

(490P 


IN    THK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

about  .i^6oo,  and  contains  two  school-rooms,  which  have  a  seating,' 
capacity  for  120  children.  At  present,  however,  but  one  school- 
room is  in  use,  as  the  number  of  children  in  attendance  does  not 
exceed  eighty-three.  This  school  has  always  been  taught  by 
secular  teachers,  the  first  being  Patrick  Frawley.  The  average 
annual  expenditure  for  the  school,  including  the  teacher's  salary, 
is  $500,  paid  from  pew  rent,  and  the  average  annual  cost  per  pupil 
is  about  $7.93.  The  present  value  of  the  ground  used  for  school 
purposes  is  $1,000,  and  of  the  building,  with  appurtenances, 
$1,000.  A  new  building,  however,  is  now  in  process  of  construc- 
tion, to  cost  $3,125,  under  the  direction  of  I^ev.  Frederick  Von 
Schwedler,  the  present  rector. 

COLUMBIA  CITY,    WHITLEY  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School. — In  1866,  the  first  Catholic  school  was 
erected  in  Columbia  City,  by  the  Rev.  H.  V.  Schaefer,  at  a  cost 
of  $1,000.  The  present  two-story  brick  structure,  trimmed  with 
Bedford  stone,  was  put  up  in  1887  by  the  present  zealous  pastor. 
Rev.  A.  M.  Ellering.  It  is  32  x  54  feet,  main  building,  with  a 
wing  of  20x30  feet,  and  contains  two  class-rooms  on  the  first 
floor  and  a  sodality  or  school-hall  on  the  second  floor,  running  the 
full  length  of  the  building. 

At  present  eighty  pupils  answer  to  the  daily  roll  call  and  are 
taught  by  two  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes,  whose  mother-house  is  in  Fond 
du  Lac,  Wis.  Religieuse  of  this  order  have  been  in  charge  of  the 
school  since  1879,  the  first  teachers  having  been  Sister  Alexia  and 
Sister  Claudine.  The  estimated  annual  expense  of  the  school, 
includingthe  salary  of  the  teachers,  is  about  $500.  The  annual  aver- 
age expense  for  each  pupil  is  from  five  to  seven  dollars.  The  income 
propsr.  for  the  support  of  the  school,  consists  of  a  tuition  fee  from 
the  children  whose  parents  can  afford  to  pay  fifty  cents  or  $1.00 
per  month;  but,  as  many  of  the  parents  are  too  poor  to  pay  even 
this  small  amount,  the  present  pastor  pays  one-half  the  salary  of 
the  teachers  from  his  own  scanty  means.  The  value  of  the  school 
ground  is  $2,000,  that  of  the  school-house,  with  its  furniture,  is 
$6, 500;  and   the   original   cost  of  erecting  the  teachers'  dwelling 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


was  $  1,000.      The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is  Rev. 
A.  M.  Ellering. 

CRAWFOKUSVILLE,  MONTGOMERY  COUNTY. 

St.  Bernard's  School. — In  1863  this  two-story  structure  was 
erected,  at  a  cost  of  $5,000,  and  placed  in  charge  of  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Cross.  It  contains  three  class-rooms,  and  has  seating 
capacity  for  150  pupils.  At  present  121  pupils  are  in  regular 
attendance,  and  are  taught  by  three  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
order.  The  amount  required  by  the  Sisters  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  the  school  is  derived  from  a  monthly  tuition  fee  of  $1.00,  paid 
by  each  child  whose  parents  can  afford  the  contribution.  Chil- 
dren of  poor  parents  have  all  the  advantages  of  the  school  free  of 
charge.  The  average  annual  expense  for  each  pupil  is  $7.  50.  The 
present  value  of  the  school  grounds  is  $5,500,  and  the  estimated 
value  of  the  school-building  and  its  appurtenances  is  $8,000.  Very 
Rev.  John  Dempsey  is  director  of  the  school. 

CROWN    POINT,    LAKE    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  School. — ^The  first  school  in  Crown  Point  was  a 
one-story  frame  building,  put  up  by  Rev.  H.  Meissner,  in  1875,  at 
a  cost  of  $1,000.  The  first  teacher  employed  was  Ad.  Ger- 
lach.  Later  the  school  passed  into  the  hands  of  two  Sisters  of  St. 
Agnes,  from  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.  In  1890,  after  the  completion  of 
the  present  church,  the  old  one  was  remodeled  into  a  school-house 
of  two  rooms,  to  which  two  rooms  have  since  been  added,  and  the 
attendance  is  now  130  children,  under  the  supervision  of  four  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Agnes.  The  annual  outlay  for  preserving  the  building 
in  order  and  for  defraying  the  salary  of  teachers  is  $550,  which 
amount  is  derived  from  tuition  fees  of  fifty  cents  a  month  from 
pupils  who  are  able  to  pay,  supplemented  by  funds  from  the 
church.  The  present  value  of  the  school  ground,  including  play 
ground,  is  $600.  The  value  of  the  school-house  with  appur- 
tenances is  about  $2,000,  and  the  value  of  the  Sister's  dwelling, 
erected  by  the  congregation,  is  $1,000.  The  average  annual 
expense  for  each  pupil  is  about  $6.95.  The  present  reverend 
director  is  Rev.  Philip  Guethof^. 

(492r 


IN    THE    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 


DKCATUR,    ADAMS  COUNTY. 


St.  Joseph's  School  is  attached  to  St.  Mary's  church,  and  was 
first  opened  in  a  small  frame  building,  erected  for  the  purpose  by 
Rev.  Jacob  Meyer,  in  1858.  It  contained  but  one  room,  which, 
at  that  date,  was  sufficient  school  accommodation  for  the  number 
of  Catholic  children  in  Decatur. 

In  1880  this  frame  structure  was  replaced  by  the  present  two- 
story  brick-building,  60x46  feet,  at  a  cost  of  $5,600.  It  is  situ- 
ated twenty  feet  west  of  the  church,  on  the  corner  of  Madison  and 
Fifth  streets,  with  its  main  entrance  on  the  east  side.  This  school- 
house  contains  four  cheerful,  well-ventilated  class-rooms,  fully 
supplied  with  all  school  necessaries.  Many  of  the  children  live  in 
the  surrounding  country  at  a  distance  of  from  one  to  five  miles  from 
the  school.  Four  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes,  from  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis., 
took  charge  of  the  school  in  1880,  upon  the  completion  of  the  new 
building,  and  it  is  now  under  the  care  and  able  management  of 
eight  of  these  Sisters.  The  present  value  of  the  school  ground, 
including  a  spacious  play-ground,  is  $2,000,  and  the  value  of  the 
school-building,  with  its  appurtenances,  is  $6,700.  The  present 
director  of  the  school  is  Rev.  H.  Theo.  Wilken,  who,  in  1893, 
added  a  new  school-building,  with  two  rooms,  and  the  present 
attendance  is  333  pupils. 

DELPHI,  CARROLL  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School. — The  first  Catholic  school  in  Delphi  was 
erected,  in  1863,  by  Very  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering,  at  a  cost  of  $800. 
It  is  a  one-story  brick  structure,  45^35  feet,  and  contains  two 
school-rooms.  The  first  teacher  employed  in  the  building  was  Mr. 
Sullivan,  who  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Wilson.  In  1876,  upon  the 
invitation  of  Rev.  John  Bleckmann,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  pas- 
torate of  St.  Joseph's  church,  three  Sisters  of  Providence  assumed 
charge  of  the  school.  In  addition  to  the  fitting  up  of  the  school 
Father  Bleckmann  rented  and  furnished  a  house  for  the  teachers. 
A  few  years  later  the  "  Daly  "  property  was  purchased,  and  then  a 
senior  department  for  girls  was  opened  in  the  Sisters'  dwelling- 
house. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

When  Rev.  H.  A.  Boeckelmann  took  charge  of  the  parish  in 
1885  he  sold  the  Daly  property  and  bought  property  next  to  the 
school,  on  which  stands  a  frame  building.  47x27  feet.  The  senior 
class  of  girls  was  removed  to  this  building,  which  also  contains  the 
dwelling  apartments  of  the  Sisters.  The  three  school-rooms  now 
in  use  have  a  seating  capacity  for  124  children,  with  an  attendance 
of  117,  under  four  Sisters.  The  average  annual  expense  for 
repairs,  fuel,  etc.,  is  about  $80,  which  amount  is  paid  from  church 
funds.  The  money  required  for  the  maintenance  of  the  teachers 
is  derived  from  tuition  fees  of  fifty  cents  or  seventy-five  cents  a 
month  from  children  who  are  able  to  pay.  The  average  annual 
expense  per  pupil  is  $5.  The  value  of  the  combined  lots  now 
used  for  school  purposes  is  $3,300,  and  the  value  of  the  buildings 
is  about  $4,700.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is 
Rev.  C.  M.  Romer. 

DUNNINGTON,  BENTON  COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  School,  at  Dunnington,  is  taught  by  the  Franciscan 
Sisters,  of  LaFayette,  and  has  an  attendance  of  147  pupils.  The 
school  is  free,  the  salary  of  the  teachers  being  paid  from  the  church 
funds.  In  this  rural  district  the  pastor  and  Sisters  labor  hard  to 
give  the  dear  little  ones  that  elevation  of  the  intelligence  and  heart 
which  is  given  to  the  more  favored  children  of  larger  cities.  And 
here  also  has  it  been  well  understood  that  the  character  of  the 
instruction  given  in  the  school  will  largely  shape  the  condition  and 
needs  and  aspirations,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  of  the  com- 
munity. 

DYER,     LAKE    COUNTY. 

This  is  one  of  the  favored  district  schools  in  which  only  Cath- 
olic children  attend  and  Catholic  teachers  are  employed,  and  salaries 
are  paid  from  the  public-school  fund  of  Lake  county.  The  chil- 
dren attend  daily  mass  and  the  pastor  is  at  perfect  liberty  to  teach 
catechism  and  Bible  history.  Still  both  pastor  and  people  regret 
very  much  that  present  circumstances  do  not  justify  the  starting  of 
a  parochial  school.      The  school  is  taught  by  a  Franciscan  Sister, 

(494) 


IN    THE    STAT1-:    Ol'     INDIANA. 

and  a  male  lay  teacher  who  has  charge  of  the  higher  grades.     The 
school  numbers  eight}'  attendants. 

KAKl.    PARK,     I'.ENTON    COUNTY. 

St.  Anthony's  School  is  a  one-story  frame  house,  built  in  1869, 
by  Michael  Sickel,  at  a  cost  of  $400.  The  first  teacher  employed 
was  Joseph  Riesel,  who  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Carrie  Dehner, 
Joseph  Dehner,  Henry  Boers,  Miss  Susan  Theno  and  seven  other 
teachers,  the  present  one  being  Miss  Maggie  Higgins.  In  1873 
Anthony  Dehner,  the  oldest  settler  and  the  pioneer  of  this  section, 
built  to  the  school-house  an  addition  of  twenty  feet,  thus  increas- 
ing its  dimensions  to  24  x  48  feet,  not  including  a  hall,  8x10  feet, 
used  for  the  childrens  wraps.  The  present  enrolment  is  twenty- 
eight  boys  and  thirty-seven  girls. 

The  average  annual  outlay  for  the  school  is  $500,  most  of 
which  amount  is  paid  by  the  state,  the  school  being  a  district 
school,  free  to  all  who  attend.  During  the  summer  a  special  term 
is  held  and  pupils  attending  it  are  charged  $1  per  month.  The 
average  expense  of  the  school,  per  pupil,  is  $16.  The  present 
value  of  the  school  ground  is  $100  and  of  the  school-building,  with 
appurtenances,  about  $700.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the 
school  is  Rev.  P.  J.  Weber. 

EGE,     NOHLE    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  School. — The  little  frame  building  that  served  as 
the  first  Catholic  school  in  Ege  owes  its  origin  to  Mr.  Girardot,  a 
pious  pioneer  settler,  who,  in  1863,  built  it  to  serve  as  a  church 
for  the  few  Catholics  then  living  in  the  vicinity.  Ege  at  that  date 
was  a  mission  which  was  visited  at  stated  times  by  the  Rev.  Father 
Shaefer.  In  1875  it  became  necessary  to  build  a  larger  church  to 
accommodate  the  increased  number  of  Catholics  in  the  settlement; 
then  the  little  frame  church  was  converted  into  a  home  for  the  first 
resident  priest,  Rev.  F.  X.  Ege. 

In  1883  this  worthy  priest  opened  a  school,  and  for  this  end 
he  gave  one  room  of  his  own  residence  to  be  used  as  a  school- 
room until  the  congregation  should  be  able  to  build  a  school-house. 
In  February,   1886,  this   building   was   destroyed  by  fire,    but  the 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

school  was  not  interrupted,  for  an  adjacent  store  was  at  once 
rented  and  in  it  school  was  continued  until  December  of  the  same 
year,  when  the  present  fine  school-house  was  ready  for  occupancy. 
This  building  is  a  two-story  brick,  40  x  30  feet,  and  contains  two 
class-rooms,  each  having  a  seating  capacity  for  seventy  children. 
At  present,  however,  one  room  supplies  all  the  school  accommo- 
dation required,  and  forty-five  pupils  are  taught  by  two  Sisters  of 
St.  Francis.  The  average  annual  outlay  for  the  support  of  the 
school  is  about  $210,  derived  from  pew  rent,  as  the  school  is  free 
to  all  the  children  of  the  parish.  The  annual  expense  per  pupil  is 
$3.23.  At  present  the  value  of  the  school  ground,  including  four 
acres  surrounding  the  building,  is  $100.  The  value  of  the  school- 
building  and  the  Sisters'  residence,  which  is  attached,  is  about 
$2,400.  Rev.  F.  Faust  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the 
school. 

ELKHART,  ELKHART  COUNTY. 

St.  Vincent's  School,  at  Elkhart,  Ind.,  consists  of  one  brick 
building,  28x71  feet,  and  a  frame,  25x33  feet.  The  former  was 
originally  used  as  a  church;  but  in  1888,  upon  the  completion 
of  the  new  church,  it  was  remodeled  into  a  school  and  the  frame 
building  was  erected  to  furnish  further  accommodations  for  the 
pupils.  These  tv;o  buildings,  each  one-story  in  height,  gi\"e  four 
school-rooms,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  177  children.  The 
original  cost  of  the  brick  structure  was  $2,400,  and  of  the  frame 
structure  $500. 

The  first  school-house  in  the  parish  owes  its  beginning  to  Very 
Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering,  who,  in  1881,  changed  the  old  church  into 
school-rooms,  at  a  cost  of  $1,800.  The  school  from  its  founda- 
tion has  been  in  charge  of  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.  At  present 
there  are  three  of  these  Sisters  engaged  in  the  class-rooms  and  the 
attendance  at  the  school  numbers  sixty-nine  boys  and  sixty-four 
girls.  The  present  value  of  the  school  ground  is  $5,000,  and  the 
school  and  its  appurtenances  $3,000,  and  of  the  teachers'  resi- 
dence, $1,800.  The  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  school  is 
derived  from  tuition  fees  paid  by  the  pupils  and  about  one-half 
from  the   church    funds.      The   average   rnnual    expense  for   each 

(490) 


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IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

pupil  is  $7.50.      The  present  reverend  director  is  Rev.  Henry  A. 
Boeckelmann. 

ELWOOI),    MADISON   COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School  was  erected  in  1892,  by  Rev.  B.  Hiegel, 
at  a  cost  of  $600.  It  is  a  one-room,  frame  structure,  26  x  36  feet, 
and  has  a  seating  capacity  for  100,  but  as  the  present  attendance, 
223  pupils,  overcrowds  the  room,  the  intention  of  the  reverend 
pastor  is  to  convert  the  old  church  into  a  school-house  as  soon  as 
a  new  church  can  be  erected.  Owing  to  this  want  of  school  room, 
children  are  obliged  to  leave  the  school  when  they  have  made 
their  first  holy  communion,  a  fact  greatly  to  be  regretted.  The 
present  teachers  are  three  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  The  annual  out- 
lay for  the  school,  including  the  teachers'  salary,  is  $350,  which 
amount  is  derived  from  tuition  fees,  of  fifty  cents,  $1.25  and 
$1.50  from  each  family,  according  to  the  number  of  children  edu- 
cated from  it.  The  average  annual  expense  per  pupil  is  $3.10. 
The  present  value  of  the  school  ground,  including  play-ground,  is 
$500,  and  of  the  school-building  with  its  appurtenances,  $700.  The 
present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is  Rev.  B.  Biegel. 

FORT    WAYNE,    ALLEN    COUNTY. 

St.  Augustine's  School  for  Girls,  Fort  Wayne,  was  opened  in 
1845  on  the  very  site  which  it  occupies  at  the  present  day,  forty- 
five  feet  north  of  the  cathedral.  It  is  the  oldest  parochial  school 
in  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne  and  owes  its  origin  to  the  zealous 
missionary,  Mgr.  J.  Benoit,  late  vicar-general  of  the  diocese. 

As  early  as  1844  the  first  Catholic  school  was  built  in  Fort 
Wayne  by  Contractor  John  Burt,  who  received  in  exchange  three 
acres  of  land  north  of  the  present  city,  from  Rev.  S.  T.  Badin.  In 
the  year  following  Mgr.  Benoit,  then  resident  priest  in  Fort  Wayne, 
with  a  parish  extending  into  several  of  the  surrounding  counties, 
invited  the  Sisters  of  Providence  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods  to 
take  control  of  the  school.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  the  school 
opened  with  Sisters  M.  Magdalen,  Caroline  and  Catherine  as 
teachers. 

The  first  school-house  was  what  is  now  the  central  part  of  the 
convent,  fronting  Calhoun  street.      In  it  the  Sisters  taught  during 

1499) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

five  years;  but  long  before  that  time  had  elapsed  the  rooms  were 
overcrowded.  In  1850  a  one-story  brick  school-house,  containing 
three  rooms,  was  built  a  few  rods  to  the  east  on  Jefferson  street. 
This  served  as  an  English  and  German  school  for  girls  until  1853, 
when  the  German  children  were  removed  to  their  own  school  on 
Lafayette  street.  Even  after  their  departure,  the  school-house  was 
too  small  to  accommodate  the  number  of  English-speaking  children 
that  sought  instruction  in  St.  Augustine's  school,  so  that  the  build- 
ing was  torn  down  in  1867  to  give  r  om  for  a  wing  that  was  added 
to  the  main  building,  at  a  cost  of  over  $18,000.  This  wing,  still 
in  use,  is  more  than  three  stories  high  and  consists  of  six  rooms 
and  a  basement. 

In  1883,  more  room  being  needed,  another  wing  was  built 
south  of  the  main  building,  running  east,  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
$20,000.  This  second  addition  completed  the  accommodations 
required  in  the  school,  which  can  now  comfortably  seat  350  chil- 
dren. It  contains  the  high-school  class-rooms,  art  and  music 
departments,  and  apartments  for  boarding  pupils.  The  course  of 
study  pursued  give  a  thorough  English  education,  and  is  combined 
with  a  commercial  course  for  girls  who  wish  to  prepare  themselves 
for  active  work  as  amanuenses  or  bookkeepers.  The  present 
enrolment  of  pupils  is  370.  Eighteen  Sisters  are  employed  as 
teachers  in  all  departments.  The  annual  average  outlay  for  keep- 
ing the  premises  in  order  is  about  $300.  This  amount,  and  that 
which  is  required  for  the  maintenance  of  the  teachers,  is  derived 
from  tuition  fees  paid  by  the  pupils  who  can  afford  to  contribute. 
The  charges  vary  from  twenty-five  cents  to  $2  a  month,  according 
to  the  grade  in  which  tne  pupil  is.  The  average  expense  per  pupil 
is  about  $5  a  year.  The  present  value  of  the  school  ground, 
incl  .ding  the  large  play-ground,  is  about  $75,000.  The  value  of 
the  building,  which  has  a  frontage  of  eighty-six  feet  with  two 
extensions,  each  112x30  feet,  is  $65,000,  including  its  appurte- 
nances. The  present  reverend  direc  or  of  the  school  is  Rev.  Fred 
Dandurand. 

The  Cathedral   School   for   Boys.  Fort  Wayne,  Allen  county, 
Ind.,  dates  its  origin  back  to  1848,  when  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  J.  Benoit 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol-     INDIANA. 

opened  a  school  for  boys  in  a  frame  building,  erected  at  a  cost  of 
several  thousand  dollars,  and  A.  Walters  was  placed  in  charge. 
In  1858  three  Brothers  of  the  Holy  Cross  assumed  control  of  the 
school  and  taught  in  the  frame  building  until  1862,  when  the  new 
brick  school-house  was  ready  for  occupancy.  This  edifice  was 
erected  also  by  Father  Benoit.  The  original  cost  of  this  structure, 
including  the  ground  upon  which  it  stands,  was  $10,000.  It  is  a 
solid  brick  building,  45x60  feet,  and  contains  seven  school-rooms, 
which  afford  a  total  seating  capacity  for  375  boys,  but  at  present 
245  only  attend,  under  the  control  of  seven  Brothers  of  the  Holy 
Cross.  In  1884  the  course  of  studies  hitherto  pursued  in  the 
school  was  extended  to  embrace  a  commercial  department,  in  which 
is  given  a  thorough  training  in  bookkeeping,  phonography  and  type- 
writing. From  this  department  were  graduated  many  of  the  most 
successful  business  men  of  Fort  Wayne.  The  average  annual  out- 
lay for  the  support  of  this  school  is  $2,  500,  which  amount  is  derived 
from  tuition  fees  varying  from  seventy-five  cents  to  $2  a  month 
and  from  the  revenue  of  the  church.  The  average  annual  expense 
per  pupil  is  about  $7.  50.  The  present  value  of  the  corner  on  which 
the  school  stands  is  $30,000,  and  the  value  of  the  school-building 
with  its  appurtenances  is  about  $50,000.  The  house  occupied  by 
the  Brothers,  which  also  belongs  to  the  congregation,  is  worth  about 
$3,000.  Rev.  John  Durham  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the 
school. 

St.  Mary's  School. — The  first  school  in  St.  Mary's  parish. 
Fort  Wayne,  was  a  small  frame  building  erected  in  1853,  by  Rev. 
E.  Faller,  at  a  cost  of  $400,  on  the  very  site  which  St.  Mary's 
church  now  occupies.  It  was  destined  as  a  school  for  the  boys  of 
the  parish,  and  served  this  purpose  until  1862,  when  the  present 
boys'  school  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $ro,ooo.  This  school  has  a 
frontage  on  Lafayette  street  of  seventy  feet,  and  a  depth  of  forty 
feet  along  Jefferson  street.  It  is  a  two-story  brick  structure,  con- 
taining three  school-rooms  on  the  first  floor,  and  a  hall  70  x  40  feet 
on  the  second  floor.  The  first  teachers  of  the  boys'  school  were 
Mr.  Ohnhaus  and  Mr.  Geiger. 

In  the  year  that  saw  the  opening  of  the  boys'  school  the  girls 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  the  parish,  who  had  been  attending  St.  Augustine's  since  1845, 
were  removed  to  their  own  school  in  the  brick  building  on  Lafay- 
ette street.  This  structure  served  the  double  purpose  of  church 
and  the  lower  floor  as  a  girls'  school  and  Sisters'  house.  The  pos- 
sible cost  of  this  building  was  $3,000.  The  first  teachers  in  the 
girls'  school  were  three  Sisters  of  Providence.  In  1859,  upon  the 
completion  of  the  new  church,  the  whole  building  was  changed 
into  a  school-house,  and  in  1878  an  addition  was  made  to  it;  but 
in  1 89 1  the  entire  edifice  was  torn  down  to  make  room  for  the 
present  m.agnificent  school-house  and  convent  erected  by  Rev.  J. 
H.  Oechtering  at  a  cost  of  $20,000. 

In  August,  1865,  the  management  of  the  girls'  school  passed 
into  the  hands  of  three  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  from  Mil- 
waukee. In  1879  a  fourth  Sister  took  charge  of  the  smallest  boys, 
and  in  1 880  two  more  sisters  came  to  teach  the  intermediate  classes 
of  boys.  At  present  nine  of  these  religiouses  are  engaged  in  the 
schools.  The  total  enrolment  of  pupils  is  521;  of  this  number 
283  are  boys.  The  new  school-house,  finished  in  1891,  fronts 
Lafayette  street,  and  measures  75.x  65  feet,  with  a  convent  at- 
tached, 55x40  feet.  This  building  contains  five  large  school- 
rooms. It  is  admirably  planned  as  to  ventilation,  heating  and  con- 
venience, is  elegantly  finished  and  so  complete  in  its  arrangements 
that  it  lacks  nothing  that  a  perfectly  equipped  school  needs  for  its 
classes.  The  play  grounds  are  spacious  and  sufficiently  retired 
from  the  street  to  permit  such  games  as  promote  healthful  action 
of  mind  and  body.  Most  of  the  children  attending  school  live  in 
the  immediate  vicinity,  but  a  few  come  from  a  distance  of  two 
miles.  After  first  holy  communion  an  average  of  twenty  of  the 
first  communicants  continue  in  school. 

The  annual  outlay  for  the  school  is  $1,900,  which  amount  is 
derived  from  three  sources — $1,500  from  the  School  society,  $200 
tuition  fees  from  children  whose  parents  are  not  members  of  the 
society,  and  the  balance  from  church  funds.  The  average  annual 
expense  for  each  pupil  is  about  $4. 

The  present  value  of  the  ground  used  for  school  purposes  is 
$17,000;  the  combined  value  of  the  school-buildings,   with  their 


(502) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

furniture,  is  $2  1,000,  and  the  value  of  the  Sisters' dwelling  is  $10,- 
500.      The  present  director  is  Rev.  J.  H.  Oechtering. 

St.  Patrick's  School. — The  first  school  established  in  St. 
Patrick's  parish,  Fort  Wayne,  was  opened  by  two  Sisters  of  Prov- 
idence, in  1886,  on  South  Calhoun  street,  in  the  Bond  building, 
rented  for  that  purpose  by  Very  Rev.  J.  H.  Brammer,  V.  G.  The 
opening  enrolment  was  seventy  boys  and  twenty  girls,  but  before 
three  years  had  elapsed  it  was  necessary  to  seek  a  larger  building 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  greatly  increased  number  of  pupils 
attending  the  school.  To  meet  this  demand  a  two-story  frame 
building,  on  Fairfield  avenue,  was  purchased,  in  1888,  by  Rev. 
T.  M.  O'Leary,  then  director,  and  remodeled  into  a  school-house 
consisting  of  four  school-rooms,  two  for  boys  and  two  for  girls. 
Here  the  school  was  taught  until  1891,  when  it  was  removed  to 
the  present  handsome  school-house,  on  the  corner  of  DeWald  and 
Webster  streets.  This  building  was  erected  by  the  present  pastor 
of  St.  Patrick's  congregation.  Rev.  J.  F.  Delaney,  at  a  cost  of 
$12,000.  It  is  a  brick  structure,  with  Sisters'  dwelling  annexed, 
and  is  located  eighty  feet  west  of  the  church  to  the  rear.  It  is 
80x60  feet  fronting  W'ebster  street,  is  two  and  one-half  stories 
high,  and  contains  eight  class-rooms,  four  on  each  floor,  with  a 
seating  capacity  of  480  children. 

The  building  is  thoroughly  ventilated  and  well-lighted,  while 
the  school-rooms  are  provided  with  everything  necessary  for  the 
use  of  teachers  and  pupils.  The  present  enrolment  is  440,  of 
whom  226  are  boys.  At  present  there  are  eleven  teachers,  Sisters 
of  Providence,  whose  salary  is  dependent  upon  what  they  collect 
from  the  pupils.  The  tuition  fees  are  seventy-five  cents  a  month 
from  those  who  are  able  to  pay.  Poor  children  are  received  free 
of  charge.  The  expense  incurred  for  keeping  the  building  in 
repair,  fuel  and  water  supply,  is  defrayed  by  the  congregation. 
The  estimated  expenditure  of  the  school,  including  what  may  be 
termed  the  teachers'  salaries,  is  $2,500  a  year.  The  present  value 
of  the  school  ground,  including  play-ground,  is  $8,000.  The  value 
of  the  school-building,  with  appurtenances,  is  $13,000,  and  the 
value   of  the   teachers'  residence,   erected   by  the  congregation,  is 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

$4,000.  The  school  is  considered  the  finest  in  the  city,  being 
handsomely  frescoed  and  in  everyway  convenient,  and  the  sanitary 
condition  perfect. 

St.  Paul's  School. — This  school  was  established  in  1866  under 
the  direction  of  Rev.  E.  Koenig,  in  a  small  frame  building  near 
the  site  of  the  present  school-house.  The  first  enrolment  of 
pupils  was  fiftv-six,  but  the  number  increased  from  month  to 
month,  and  it  became  necessary,  in  1868,  to  build  a  new  school- 
house.  This  two-story  brick  building,  situated  on  the  corner  of 
Washington  and  Griffith  streets,  gave  two  large  rooms,  which  with 
another  room  provided  by  the  old  parochial  residence  in  1880 
accommodated  the  pupils  until  1886,  when  the  old  church  was 
remodeled  into  a  school-house  of  two  rooms.  At  present  these 
two  buildings  are  in  use  for  school  purposes  and  have  a  total  seat- 
ing capacity  for  250  children.  The  brick  building  is  40x50  feet, 
and  the  frame  structure  is  75  x  37  feet.  Both  buildings  front  on 
Griffith  street;  they  are  cheerful,  well  ventilated,  and  amply  fur- 
nished with  everything  that  is  necessary  for  a  good  school.  While 
a  f  w  of  the  pupils  attend  from  a  distance  of  three  miles  in  the 
country,  most  of  them  live  in  the  vicinity,  and  remain  in  school 
after  first  holy  communion  until  the  close  of  that  term. 

At  present  i  10  boys  and  100  girls  are  in  regular  attendance. 
Three  Sisters,  Poor  Handmaids  of  Christ,  teach  the  girls  and  the 
small  boys;  John  Hauck  teaches  the  older  boys.  These  teachers 
were  preceded  in  the  school  by  Peter  Mettler,  Ferdinand  Buehler 
and  Miss  Clementine  Koenig,  who  were  successively  in  charge  of 
the  little  ones  of  St.  Paul's  parish. 

The  original  cost  of  the  brick  building  was  $4,000,  and  the 
cost  of  remodeling  the  old  pastoral  residence,  used  for  a  time  as  a 
school,  and  the  fitting  up  of  the  old  church,  summed  another 
$4,000,  making  a  total  original  expenditure  on  the  school-building 
of  $8,000. 

The  present  average  annual  outlay  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
school  is  $1,050,  of  which  amount  $900  are  derived  from  member- 
ship fees  of  the  School  society;  the  remainder  is  taken  from  the 
church  funds.     The  average  annual  expense  per  pupil  is  $6. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

At  present  the  value  of  the  school  ground,  includinf^  the  play 
ground,  is  $5,000,  and  the  combined  value  of  the  school-buildings 
is  about  $7,000.  The  value  of  the  house  occupied  by  the  teacher 
is  $500. 

Rev.  E.  Koenig,  who  had  charge  of  St.  Paul's  congregation 
from  December,  1865,  died  on  January  22,  1898.  On  February  7 
the  present  rector.  Rev.  H.  F.  Joseph  Kroll,  was  appointed  by  the 
right  reverend  bishop  and  since  February  23d  has  had  charge  of 
the  congregation. 

St.  Peter's  School. — The  first  school-house  erected  in  St. 
Peter's  parish  was  put  up  by  Rev.  John  Wemhoff,  in  1872,  at  a 
cost  of  $8,000.  It  was  first  taught  by  Mr.  Rose,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  two  other  lay  teachers  until  i88[,  when  it  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  from  Milwaukee, 
Wis.,  as  noted  in  the  church  history. 

The  building  is  a  two-story  brick  structure,  40  x  80  feet,  on 
Martin  street,  seventy-five  feet  east  of  the  church,  to  the  rear, 
with  main  entrance  on  the  north  side.  It  contains  six  school- 
rooms, which  afford  a  total  seating  capacity  for  355  children. 
The  rooms  are  airy,  comfortable,  and  well  furnished  with  school 
necessaries.  The  upper  story  of  the  building  is  thrown  into  one 
large  hall,  40x80  feet,  which  is  used  for  sodality  and  other 
parochial  ass.mblies.  The  present  enrolment  of  pupils  is  355; 
the  boys  number  185  and  the  girls  170.  Six  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  are  now  employed  as  teachers,  and  the  school  continues  to 
improve  from  year  to  year  under  their  management.  Alter  first 
holy  communion,  such  pupils  are  retained  in  St.  Peter's  school  as 
wish  to  continue  their  studies,  and  are  advanced  in  all  the  princi- 
pal branches  of  the  high-school  course.  Most  of  the  pupils  live  in 
the  vicinity,  but  a  few  have  their  homes  at  a  distance  of  one  to 
three  miles  from  the  school. 

The  average  annual  .outlay  for  the  school  is  about  $1,500. 
This  amount  is  generally  derived  from  fees  of  St.  Joseph's  School 
society,  established  for  that  end.  The  monthly  membership  fee 
is  sixty-five  cents,  but  that  of  widows  twenty-five  cents  only.  The 
children  of  parents  paying  sixty-five  cents  enjoy'the  privilege  of  a 

"(505) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

free  school,  but   children   whose  parents  are   not  members  of  the 
society  pay  $i  per  month  tuition  fee. 

The  present  value  of  the  school  ground,  including  a  spacious 
play-ground,  is  $5,000.  The  value  of  the  school-building,  with 
appurtenances,  is  $10,000;  and  the  value  of  the  Sisters'  dwelling- 
house  is  $5,000.  The  present  director  is  Rev.  F.  Koerdt,  who 
has  formed  a  building  association  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
funds  with  which  to  erect  a  more  commodious  school-house,  with 
halls  and  club-rooms,  the  cost  of  which  will  probably  approximate 
$35,000. 

FOWLER,     BENTON    COUNTY. 

Sacred  Heart  School  was  erected  in  1891,  at  a  cost  of  $1,200, 
by  Rev.  A.  Henneberger.  It  is  a  two-story  frame  building,  26  x 
32  feet,  and  serves  the  double  purpose  of  school  and  dwelling  for 
the  three  Franciscan  Sisters,  from  LaFayette,  who  are  in  charge  of 
the  school,  which  was  opened  in  September,  1891,  by  Sister  Luit- 
gera,  with  an  enrolment  of  sixty  pupils.  The  number  of  children 
continued  to  increase  so  rapidly  that  another  room  had  to  be  pro- 
vided within  two  months  after  the  opening  of  the  school.  To  meet 
this  demand  the  one  large  ro3m  was  divided  by  a  partition,  still  the 
school  is  overcrowded,  for  its  seating  capacity  is  sixty,  while  the 
average  attendance  is  thirty-five  boys  and  thirty  girls.  The  school 
is  free  to  the  greater  number  of  the  pupils;  some  pay  fifty  cents  a 
month  tuition  fee,  but  the  amount  collected  from  them  does  not 
exceed  $150  per  annum.  The  average  expense  of  each  pupil  for 
the  year  is  about  $7.  The  ground  attached  to  the  school  is  two 
acres,  and  is  valued  at  $500,  while  the  school  and  its  furniture  may 
be  valued  at  $1,500.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school 
is  Rev.  H.  A.  Hellhake. 

(iARRETT,     DEKALB    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School. — In  1880  the  present  pastor  of  St.  Jo- 
seph's church,  Rev.  A.  Young,  built  the  first  Catholic  school  in  the 
parish.  It  is  a  handsome  brick  structure,  30  x  50  feet,  and  con- 
tains four  rooms,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  240  children.  At 
present  177  pupils  attend   the  school,   and   are  in  charge    of  four 

(606) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

teachers,  Sisters  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood,  whose  residence, 
erected  for  them  by  the  congregation  at  a  cost  of  $800,  is  on  the 
same  lot  as  the  school. 

The  school  is  supported  from  funds  raised  by  the  monthly 
contributions  of  the  School  society.  Children  whose  parents  are 
members  of  this  society  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the  school  with- 
out additional  cost  of  tuition;  other  children  are  required  to  pay, 
if  able,  from  fifty  cents  to  $1  per  month.  The  annual  expenditure 
for  the  school,  including  teachers'  salary,  is  $750  a  year,  which 
comes  to  about  $4.  75  per  pupil.  The  original  cost  of  the  school- 
building  was  $6,000;  its  present  value,  including  its  appurtenances, 
is  $10,000,  and  the  value  of  the  ground  upon  which  it  stands  is 
$8,000.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is  Rex.  A. 
Young. 

GOSHEN,  ELKHART  COUNTY. 

St.  John's  School. — The  first  Catholic  school  in  Goshen  was 
erected  in  1867,  by  Rev.  Henry  Meissner,  at  a  cost  of  $550. 
Until  the  year  1881,  it  was  taught  successively  by  Mr.  Duehmig, 
brother  of  the  Rev.  D.  Duehmig,  Mr.  Laly,  Mr.  Wagner,  Mr.  Tid- 
ner  and  Miss  Catherine  Smith. 

In  1 88 1  the  present  school-house  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$1,100.  It  is  30x40  feet,  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  and  con- 
tains two  class-rooms,  which  have  a  seating  capacity  for  130  chil- 
dren. The  present  attendance,  however,  does  not  exceed  fifty 
pupils.  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  have  been  in  charge  of  the 
school  since  the  erection  of  the  new  building  in  1881,  and  at  pres- 
ent three  Sisters  are  engaged  in  the  school-rooms. 

The  average  annual  outlay  for  the  school,  including  the  sal- 
ary of  the  teachers,  is  $450.  Of  this  amount  $400  were  paid  as 
salary  until  last  year,  when  the  Sisters  received  but  $300.  The 
sources  of  income  for  the  school  are  three:  Tuition  fee,  at  fifty 
cents  a  month;  collections  and  socials  held  for  the  purpose,  and 
membership  fees  of  St.  Joseph's  society,  organized  on  November 
13,  1892.  The  average  expense  per  pupil  is  about  eight  dollars  a 
year.  The  present  value  of  the  school  ground,  including  play 
ground  is  $800,  and  of  the   school-building,  with   appurtenances, 

"(507) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

$1,300.  The  Sisters  occupy  the  house  formerly  used  as  a  paro- 
chial residence,  and  Rev.  S.  M.  Yenn  is  the  present  reverend 
director  of  the  school. 

HAMMOND,    LAKE    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School. — The  first  school-house  erected  in  this 
parish  was  put  up  by  the  present  pastor,  the  Rev.  H.  M.  Plaster, 
in  1885,  at  a  cost  of  $600.  In  1888  this  structure  was  replaced 
by  a  fine  brick  building,  which  cost  $11,000.  Its  dimensions  are 
50  X  TOO  feet;  it  is  two  stories  high,  and  contains  an  assembly  hall 
20  X  50  feet  and  five  school-rooms,  which  have  a  seating  capacity 
for  307  chilJren. 

The  first  teachers  employed  in  the  school  were  four  Sisters  of 
Providence:  Sister  Clementine,  Sister  Mary  Michael,  Sister  Mary 
Lewis  and  Sister  Mary  Peter.  Since  then  the  number  of  teachers 
has  been  increased  to  eleven,  and  the  attendance  of  pupils  has 
reached  an  enrolment  of  168  boys  and  195  girls.  The  average 
annual  expenditure  for  the  maintenance  of  the  school  is  about 
$1,500.  This  amount  is  derived  from  monthly  tuition  fees,  the 
average  charge  to  each  pupil  being  fifty  cents.  The  expense  per 
pupil  is  about  six  dollars  a  3'ear.  The  present  value  of  the  school 
ground,  including  a  spacious  play-ground,  is  $5,000.  The  value 
of  the  building,  with  its  appurtenances,  is  $15,000,  which  figure 
includes  the  value  of  the  Sisters'  residence  adjoining.  Rev.  H. 
M.  Plaster  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 

All  Saints"  School. — Pather  Edward  F.  Barrett  erected  a 
school-building  in  Hammond  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,  and  opened  a 
school  in  September,  1897.  The  children  of  the  English-speaking 
parishioners  of  St.  Joseph's  church,  after  their  separation,  still 
attended  St.  Joseph's  school,  until  circumstances  made  it  possible 
to  have  their  own.  The  school  has  155  pupils,  and  are  taught  by 
four  Sisters  of  Providence,  under  the  direction  of  Sister  Mary 
Patrice.  Tuition  fees  are  exacted  as  means  of  support.  This 
school  is  rapidly  increasing  though  still  in  its  infancy,  for  here  the 
heart  is  found  vibrating  in  constant  and  harmonious  unison  with 
every  accent  of  the  lips  and  effort  of  the  mind.      Here  true  Chris- 

(SOST 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

tian  affection  of   pastor  and  sister  causes  the   little  ones  to  dearly 
love  their  parish  school. 

St.  Casimir's  School,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Polish  people,  is 
taught  by  a  male  lay  teacher,  the  organist  of  the  parish  church. 
It  numbers  at  present  forty  boys  and  thirty-seven  girls.  The 
school  is  not  a  graded  school,  as  most  of  the  pupils  come  per  elec- 
tric car  from  East  Chicago  and  Whiting.  Hence  the  attendance 
in  winter  is  somewhat  irregular.  The  Polish  population  is  of  a 
shifting  character  and  children  rarely  attend  after  first  holy  com- 
munion. The  teacher's  salary  is  paid  from  funds  collected  partly 
by  tuition  fees  and  partly  from  pew  rent.  Rev.  K.  Kobylinski  is 
the  present  director. 

HESSE  CASSEL,    ALLEN   COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School. — The  first  school-house  in  Hesse  Cassel 
was  erected  in  1868,  by  the  congregation,  at  a  cost  of  $1,600. 
The  present  school-house  was  erected  in  1880,  at  a  cost  of  $3,200, 
by  Rev.  H.  F.  Hueser,  D.  D.  It  is  a  fine  two-story  brick  build- 
ing, 50  X  26  feet,  and  contains  two  nice  school-rooms,  which  have 
a  seating  capacity  for  120  children.  At  present  but  one  of  these 
rooms  is  in  use,  as  the  number  of  pupils  does  not  exceed  seventy- 
five,  under  the  care  of  three  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Sacred 
Heart.  The  average  annual  expense  for  supporting  the  school  is 
about  $450,  which  amount  is  derived  from  three  sources:  Tuition 
fees,  at  twenty-five  cents  a  month;  the  membership  fees  of  the 
School  society,  and  from  pew  rent.  The  annual  expense  per 
pupil  is  about  $8.  At  present  the  value  of  the  one  acre  of  ground 
used  for  school  purposes  is  $300,  and  the  value  of  the  school- 
building,  with  its  appurtenances,  is  $3,600.  These  figures  include 
the  value  of  the  teachers'  residence,  which  is  connected  with  the 
school-house.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is  the 
Rev.  Max  Benzinger. 

HUNTINGTON,  HUNTINGTON  COUNTY. 

School  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul. — The  first  school-house  in  this 
parish  was  built  in   1859  by  Rev.  F.  Fuchs,  at   a  cost   of  $100  in 

"(509) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

excess  of  the  gratuitous  labor  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  town. 
The  names  of  the  first  teachers  and  the  early  history  of  the  school 
are  not  on  record.  The  present  three-story  brick  school-house 
was  erected  in  1873,  at  a  cost  of  $17,000,  by  Rev.  George  Steiner. 
It  contains  a  hall  66x  38  feet,  and  five  school-rooms,  and  has  seat- 
ing capacity  for  300  children,  with  an  attendance  of  188  pupils, 
who  are  under  the  management  of  four  School  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  whose  convent  is  attached  to  the  school-house.  The  aver- 
age annual  outlay  for  the  school,  including  the  salary  of  teachers, 
is  $900,  which  sum  is  derived  mostly  from  tuition  fees  of  twenty- 
five  cents  and  fifty  cents  a  month.  When  the  amount  collected  in 
this  way  is  insufficient  to  cover  the  expense,  the  balance  is  sup- 
plied by  funds  from  the  church.  The  annual  expense  per  pupil  is 
$3.65.  The  present  value  of  the  school  ground  is  $3,000,  and  the 
value  of  the  school-building  with  appurtenances  and  convent  is 
$25,000.  The  present  reverend  director  is  Rev.  J.  H.  Hueser, 
D.  D. 

St.  Mary's  School. — The  new  parish  of  English-speaking  peo- 
ple at  Huntington  erected  a  new  school,  at  the  cost  of  $8,000,  in 
the  fall  of  1897.  It  is  complete  in  every  detail,  having  all  the 
latest  improvements  in  school-building.  There  are  cloak  rooms 
and  wash  stands  for  each  room.  Play  rooms  and  closets  are  in  the 
basement.  The  school  is  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  and 
is  attended  by  i  30  pupils,  sixty-three  boys  and  sixty-seven  girls. 
Expenses  are  defrayed  partly  by  tuition  fees  and  partly  from  pew 
rent.  Rev.  John  R.  Ouinlan  is  the  present  reverend  director. 
May  this  school,  year  after  year,  gather  an  abundant  harvest  and 
may  each  succeeding  term  find  her  sending  forth  youthful  souls, 
who  may  prove  useful  citizens  and  good  Christians. 

INDIANAPOLIS,    MARION   COUNTY. 

The  Sacred  Heart  School. — Convinced  of  the  great  necessity 
of  a  parochial  school,  the  reverend  Franciscan  Fathers  had 
planned  from  the  beginning  to  build  a  school  as  soon  as  means 
would  permit. 

In  the  year  1876  a  beginning  was  made  and  the  first  class  put 

(MOT 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

into  the  hands  of  Sebastian  Hoenig.  It  remained  thus  until  August 
of  the  same  year.  On  the  1 8th  day  of  August,  1877,  there  arrived, 
at  the  request  of  Rev.  P.  Ferdinand  Bergmeyer,  O.  F.  M.,  four 
Sisters  of  the  congregation  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  at  Caron- 
delet,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  namely:  Mother  M.  Claver,  superioress;  Sis- 
ter M.  Assisium,  Sister  Cyrilla  and  Sister  Theodora.  A  good, 
.pious  widow  lady,  Mrs.  Frommhold,  placed  her  house  and  furni- 
ture at  their  disposal,  where  they  resided  until  the  following  year. 
She  herself  a  few  months  later  entered  the  Community  and  was 
received  in  the  provincial-house  at  Troy,  N.  Y.  At  the  expiration 
•of  her  two  years  of  novitiate  she  was  admitted  to  her  holy  pro- 
fession, as  Sister  Clarissa  Aurelia.  On  the  first  Monday  in  Sep- 
tember the  sisters  entered  upon  their  field  of  labor,  opening  school 
on  the  same  day  with  an  attendance  of  eighty-live  children.  These 
were  taught  in  two  class-rooms  located  in  the  building,  occupied 
by  the  Franciscan  Fathers.  Ven.  Br.  Leopold,  O.  F.  M.,  taught 
the  larger  boys  and  also  directed  the  choir.  In  the  vear  1882,  he 
was  succeeded  by  Ven.  Br.  Maikus,  O.  F.  M.,  who  remained 
there  until  1894.  On  June  16,  1878,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
purchased  a  few  lots  on  the  corner  of  South  Meridian  and  Palmer 
streets,  whereon  they  built  their  residence.  On  October  4  of  the 
same  year  the  new  school-building  was  solemnly  blessed  by  the 
Right  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard,  who  was  assisted  by  Rev.  P. 
Ferdinand,  O.  F.  M.,  Rev.  P.  Pancratius,  Rev.  P.  Arsenius,  Rev. 
P.  Ale.xius  and  Rev.  D.  O'Donaghue,  chancellor  of  the  diocese. 
The  Sisters  removed  to  their  new  dwelling  on  October  5.  Beside 
the  Sisters'  apartments,  the  building  also  contained  three  spacious 
class-rooms,  which  were  opened  to  the  children  of  the  parish  on 
the  following  day.  The  attendance  at  this  time  numbered  about 
150  children.  In  April,  1879,  a  fourth  class-room  was  opened. 
As  the  number  of  scholars  rapidly  increased,  a  new  addition  was 
erected,  expressly  for  school  purposes.  On  January  6lh,  Rev.  P. 
Francis  Haase,  with  the  assistance  of  Revs.  P.  Augustin  Heuseler 
and  P.  Arsenius  Fahle,  solemnly  blessed  the  same.  On  January 
10,  the  Sisters  began  their  work  in  the  new  building  with  an 
attendance  of  300  children,  who  were  divided  into  six  classes. 

In  1 89 1  another  wing  was  built  to   the    school.      The    number 


31 


.(oil) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  pupils  increased  so  rapidly  that,  notwithstanding  all  their  build- 
ings, it  became  necessary  to  place  a  class  into  the  basement.  In 
1895  there  were  about  450  children  who  attended  the  Sacred 
Heart  school.  Now,  1898,  there  are  seven  class-rooms  in  the  Sis- 
ters' building.  The  highest  class  of  boys,  which,  till  1895,  had 
been  in  the  convent  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  has  now  been 
transferred  into  the  new  school-building,  north  of  the  church. 
Ven.  Br.  Marcus,  O.  F.  M.,  who,  up  to  this  time  had  taught  this 
class,  was  sent  to  the  college  at  Teutopolis.  His  successor  at 
Indianapolis  was  X.  Vollmer.  He  also  had  charge  of  the  choir. 
Owing  to  his  feeble  health  he,  after  one  year's  teaching,  confined 
himself  to  the  management  of  the  choir.  Then  the  Sisters  took 
charge  of  all  the  classes.  At  present,  1898,  the  Sacred  Heart 
school  consists  of  ten  classes,  three  of  which  are  in  the  new  school- 
building.  The  number  of  all  the  pupils  is  530.  Those  pupils  that 
wish  to  receive  a  better  education  are  taught  in  a  special  high  class 
where  the  pupils,  beside  the  other  branches  of  learning,  are  also 
instructed  in  fine  arts,  such  as  music,  painting,  etc.  The  staff  of 
teachers  is  composed  of  sixteen  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  under  the 
direction  of  Mother  Ludwina,  as  principal. 

KEXTLANI),    NEWTON    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph  School  was  erected  in  1876,  by  Rev.  A.  Messman, 
at  a  cost  of  $300,  was  taught  successively  by  M.  N.  Touskin,  Miss 
Mary  O'Donnell  and  Miss  Catherine  Cunningham;  but  it  was  dis- 
continued after  a  few  years  and  not  reopened  until  1885.  Then 
the  old  church  was  remodeled  and  fitted  up  in  a  manner  suitable 
for  school  purposes,  by  Rev.  \\\  C.  Miller,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000. 
This  reverend  Father  procured  lay  teachers  for  two  years;  but  in 
1867  he  placed  the  school  in  charge  of  two  Franciscan  Sisters 
from  LaFayette.  An  addition  was  then  built  to  the  teachers'  resi- 
dence, and  other  necessary  repairs  were  made,  which,  in  all,  cost 
the  congregation  the  sum  of  $500.  and  steam  heat  has  since  been 
introduced  at  a  cost  of  $390. 

The  school-building  is  a  one-story  frame,  24  x  70  feet, -contains 
two  well-ventilated  class-rooms  and  has  a  seating  capacity  for  100 
children,  but  the  present  daily  attendance  does  not  exceed  forty-one 

{M2r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

pupils,  now  under  three  Sisters.  The  annual  outlay  for  the  support 
of  the  school  is  derived  from  tuition  fees  of  fifty  cents  a  month 
from  children  who  are  able  to  pay,  supplemented  by  funds  taken 
from  the  church  treasury.  The  present  valufe  of  the  ground  used 
for  school  purposes  is  $300,  and  the  value  of  the  school-building, 
with  its  appurtenances,  $2,000.  The  present  reverend  director  of 
the  school  is  Rev.  C.  Ganser. 

KLAAS\'ILLE,    LAKE    CorXT^'. 

St.  Anthony's  School  opened  with  Alb.  Weber  as  the  first 
teacher  employed.  It  is  a  one-story  frame  building,  21  x  30  feet, 
and  has  a  seating  capacity  for  forty-five  children.  At  present 
there  are  thirty-five  in  attendance,  under  the  care  of  two  Sisters 
of  St.  Francis,  from  Joliet,  111.  The  average  annual  expense  for 
supporting  this  school  is  $150,  raised  by  subscription  or  by  tuition 
fees  of  fifty  cents  a  month.  The  average  annual  expense  per  pupil 
is  about  four  dollars  and  seventy  cents.  The  present  value  of  the 
one-acre  lot  on  which  the  school-house  stands  is  seventy- five  dol- 
lars, and  the  value  of  the  school-building  with  its  appurtenances 
is  $600.  The  house  erected  for  the  Sisters  by  the  congregation  is 
worth  $700. 

KOKOMO,    HOWARD    COUNTY. 

St.  Patrick's  School. — The  old  one-story  frame  school-build- 
ing was  the  old  church  remodeled  into  a  school-house  of  two 
rooms.  This  school  accommodation  was  provided  in  1874,  upon 
the  completion  of  the  new  church,  and  it  cost  the  congregation 
about  $500  to  fit  up  the  building  in  a  manner  suitable  for  school 
purposes.  The  building  measured  30x60  feet,  a  space  which 
afforded  two  large  class-rooms  which  could  seat  about  100  children. 

The  first  teachers  employed  in  St.  Patrick's  school  were  Miss 
Mar\-  Commerford,  Miss  Lizzie  Sheridan,  Miss  Mary  O'Donnell. 
In  1888  the  school  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  religious  teachers, 
and  at  present  it  is  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  A 
new  school-house  has  been  built  of  brick,  stone  and  slate,  with  a 
fine  front  tower,  large  basement,  and  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
state,  at  a  probable  cost  of  $10,000.      The  annual   outlay  for  sup- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

porting  the  school,  including  the  salary  of  the  teachers,  is  $800, 
which  amount  is  derived  from  monthly  tuition  fees  of  fifty  cents 
from  children  who  are  able  to  pay,  and  from  pew  rents.  The 
average  expense  per  pupil  is  about  five  dollars,  and  the  attendance 

is  128. 

The  present  value  of  the  ground  used  for  school  purposes  is 
$1,600,  and  the  value  of  the  buildings  with  their  appurtenances  is 
$12,000.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is  Rev.  F. 
Lordemann. 

LAFAYETTE,    TIPPECANOE    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Boys'  School  is  a  substantial  brick  building  situated 
on  South  street,  in  the  rear  of  the  church.  Here  the  Brothers  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  from  Notre  Dame,  tnd.,  began  their  school  for 
education  of  the  boys  of  St.  Mary's  church  in  1867.  In  1895  the 
school  was  put  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  from  St. 
Mary's  of  the  Woods,  near  Terre  Haute,  Ind.  Concerning  it  we 
quote  from  the  official  report  of  the  diocesan  school  board: 

Grades,  seven;  teachers,  three;  time  of  school,  ten  months  in 
the  year;  terms  in  year,  two;  free  days  (exclusive  of  Saturdays 
and  holy  days  of  obligation)  St.  Patrick's,  and  some  national  holi- 
days. Course  of  instruction:  Christian  doctrine,  sacred  history, 
penmanship,  spelling,  reading,  geography.  United  States  history, 
grammar,  church  history,  arithmetic,  physiology,  algebra,  geom- 
etry, natural  history.  Volumes  in  library,  200.  Rates  of  tuition 
per  quarter,  $5,  $3  and  $2.50. 

St.  lioniface's  School. — This  school  occupies  two  buildings. 
The  boys'  school  is  situated  on  Ninth  street,  between  Ferry  and 
North,  adjoining  the  church.  It  is  a  well  proportioned  two-story 
brick  building,  furnished  throughout  with  a  view  to  its  purpose. 
The  girls'  school  is  situated  on  Tenth  street,  between  Main  and 
Ferry,  and  rises  on  tiie  foundation  of  the  church  building  used  up 
to  1  866.      It  is  two  stories  high  and  arranged  for  four  classes. 

St.  Boniface's  parochial  schools  comprise  four  grades,  with 
162  boys  and  180  girls.  The  average  daily  attendance  is  270. 
Teachers,  four  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  and  one  male  teacher,  prin- 


IN    THK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

cipal  of  the  boys'  school.  Time  of  school,  ten  months  inthe\ear; 
terms  in  year,  one;  free  days  (exclusive  of  Saturdays  and  holy  days 
of  oblijL^ation).  from  Christmas  to  New  Years,  and  the  national  holi- 
days. 

Course  of  instruction,  English  and  Cerman:  Singing,  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  sacred  history,  penmanship,  spelling,  reading,  geog- 
raphy, United  States  history,  grammar,  arithmetic.  Volumes  in 
library,   1,481.      Rates  of  tuition  per  month,  50  cents. 

St.  Ann's  School. — The  great  distance  from  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  city,  the  notable  "  First  Ward,  "  to  St.  Mary's  necessi- 
tated the  erection  of  St.  Ann's  chapel  on  Wabash  avenue.  The 
children  of  the  district  were  collected  into  a  school,  and  in  1S68  it 
was  in  full  operation  in  the  upper  story  of  the  chapel  on  Wabash 
avenue  and  Smith  street.  Later,  for  the  convenience  of  the  little 
ones,  it  was  decided  to  remove  the  chapel  to  the  upper  floor  and 
to  occupy  the  ground  floor  for  school  purposes.  And  after  the 
completion  of  St.  Ann's  church,  whose  stately  proportions  already 
grace  Wabash  avenue  and  Green  street,  the  whole  of  the  old 
building  will  be  utilized  for  a  school.  The  official  report  gives  the 
following  information: 

Grades,  six;  average  daily  attendance,  142;  teachers.  Sisters 
of  Providence;  time  of  school,  ten  months;  terms  in  year,  two;  free 
days  (exclusive  of  Saturdays  and  holy  days  of  obligation),  March 
17th  and  the  national  holidays.  Course  of  instruction:  Singing, 
Catholic  doctrine,  sacred  history,  penmanship,  spelling,  reading, 
geography,  United  States  history,  grammar,  arithmetic.  Rates  of 
tuition  per  month,  fifty  cents. 

St.  Lawrence's  school. — This  latest  addition  to  the  Catholic 
parochial  school  system  of  Lafayette  became  necessary  on  account 
of  the  growth  of  the  city  toward  the  northeast.  St.  Lawrence's 
school  was  opened  in  October,  1896,  and  now  averages  a  daily 
attendance  of  100  children.  It  is  in  charge  of  the  Franciscan 
Sisters.  The  building,  which  contains  the  chapel  on  the  second 
floor,  is  admirably  arranged  for  school  purposes.  It  is  of  brick, 
with  stone  facings,  and  is  two  stories  high.      It  was  erected  with  a 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

view  to  accommodating  a  large  graded  school.  The  course  of 
instruction  is  on  the  lines  of  the  other  Catholic  schools  of  the  city. 
The  Catholic  parochial  schools  of  LaFayette  are  all  in  a 
flourishing  condition.  The  buildings,  grounds  and  appurtenances 
are  well  kept.  The  reader  may  judge  for  himself  what  an  amount 
of  annual  expenditure  they  cause,  and  might  do  well  to  remember 
that  its  assumption  by  his  Catholic  fellow-citizen  saves  him  just  so 
much  on  his  tax  bill. 

LA(;R(),    WABASH    COUNTY. 

St.  Patrick's  School. — The  present  school-house  at  LaGro  is 
the  old  frame  church  remodeled.  It  contains  one  room.  30x60 
feet  and  is  upon  the  same  lot  with  the  $20,000  new  brick  church, 
erected  by  Very  Rev.  M.  E.  Campion,  in  1871.  It  is  one  story 
in  height,  and  the  seating  capacity  is  hity;  but  owing  to  the  dis- 
tance some  children  live  from  the  school,  the  average  attendance 
of  pupils  is  but  twenty-four.  The  school,  thirty-two  pupils,  is 
taught  by  one  Sister  of  the  Franciscan  Order,  and  is  free  to  all 
children  of  the  parish,  for  the  most  of  those  in  attendance  are  too 
poor  to  pay  a  regular  monthly  tuition  fee.  The  revenue  for  the 
support  of  the  school  is  derived  from  private  donations  and  from 
an  annual  festival  held  for  that  purpose.  The  present  value  of 
the  school  ground  is  $200;  of  the  school-house,  including  its  fur- 
niture, $600;  and  of  the  teacher's  residence,  $500.  The  Rev. 
Peter  J.  Ouinn  is  the  reverend  director. 

LAPORTE,    LAPORTE    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School. — The  present  school-house,  the  first 
Catholic  school  erected  in  LaPorte,  was  built  in  the  year  1863,  by 
Rev.  M.  Scherer.  The  building  is  of  brick,  one  story  high,  and  is 
60x30  feet.  It  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,500,  but  an  addition 
built  in  1875,  consisting  of  a  hall  30  x  30  feet,  has  placed  the  value 
of  the  school  building  at  nearly  $2,000.  The  class-room  is  capa- 
ble of  seating  too  pupils,  but  the  present  daily  attendance  does 
not  average  more  than  eighty.  The  first  teacher  of  this  school 
was  the  Rev.  M.  Scherer,  who,  realizing  the  need  of  early  Catholic 
instruction  for  the   little  ones  of  his  parish,    gave  himself   to  the 


IN    THE    STATP:    of    INDIANA. 

humble  work  of  training;  them,  with  a  trul}'  pastoral  solicitude. 
At  present  the  school  employs  two  Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood, 
and  the  number  of  pupils  is  seventy-two.  The  money  to  meet 
expenses  is  derived  from  tuition  fees  of  fifty  cents  a  month,  sup- 
plemented by  funds  from  the  church.  The  present  value  of  the 
school-ground,  including  play-ground,  is  $i,ooo,  and  of  the  school- 
building  with  its  apjMirtenances,  $2,000.  The  house  erected  for 
the  teachers  is  worth  $1,700.  The  present  reverend  director  is 
the  Rev.  Anthonv  Messman. 

St.  Rose's  school,  erected  by  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  over 
thirty  years  ago.  is  a  large  two-story  frame  structure.  Beside 
dwelling  apartments  for  the  Sisters,  it  contains  four  school- 
rooms, with  seating  capacity  for  i  50  children,  but  is  attended  by 
only  eleven  boys  and  twenty-nine  girls.  The  school  revenue 
depends  upon  the  amount  of  tuition  collected  by  the  Sisters.  The 
rate  of  tuition  is  $1  per  month  for  those  who  are  able  to  pay,  but 
poor  children  are  taken  free  of  charge.  The  average  annual 
expense  for  each  pupil  is  $10.  The  present  value  of  the  school 
grounds  and  buildings,  all  owned  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
is  $6,000.    Rev.  George  Schramm  is  the  present  reverend  director. 

LOGAXSPORT,    CASS  COUNTY. 

St.  \'incent  de  Paul  School  was  one  of  the  first  parochial 
schools  established  in  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne.  Early  in  1862, 
when  Rev.  George  A.  Hamilton  had  completed  the  present  beauti- 
ful church-edifice,  he  sought,  for  the  little  ones  of  his  flock,  teach- 
ers who  would  mold  their  hearts  and  minds  into  the  principles  of 
the  Catholic  faith,  and  in  response  to  his  invitation  the  Religious 
of  the  Hoi}'  Cross  opened  this  school  in  1863. 

Within  a  few  years  the  school-house  proved  to  be  inadequate 
for  the  needs  of  the  parish,  and,  in  1870.  Rev.  F.  X.  Lawler,  who 
had  succeeded  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Hamilton  in  the  pastorate  of  the 
parish,  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $2,500,  another  building,  which  was 
to  be  used  as  a  parochial  school  for  bo3'S.  At  this  date,  1870,  the 
boys'  school  was  taught  by  Mr.  Von  Weller  and  the  girls'  school 
was  under  the  direction  of  Mother  Compassion,  with  Sister  Sebas- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

tian,  Sister  Augusta,  Sister  Charles  and  Sister  de  Pazzie,  as  her 
assistants. 

In  1874,  the  boys'  school  was  doubly  enlarged,  and  continued 
in  charge  of  a  lay  teacher  until  1880.  The  Brothers  of  Holy 
Cross  then  assumed  charge,  but  transferred  it  to  the  Sisters  in 
1882,  since  which  time  the  parochial  schools  of  the  parish  have 
been  exclusively  under  the  control  of  the  Sisters  of  Holy  Cross. 

The  two  schools.  Holy  Angels'  academy  and  St.  Vincent's 
boys"  school,  as  they  now  stand,  afford  accommodations  for  300 
children.  Holy  Angels'  academy  contains  five  rooms  and  St.  Vin- 
cent's school  eight  rooms,  well  ventilated  and  fully  equipped  with 
necessary  apparatus  for  teaching.  The  grounds  are  ample  for 
exercise  during  recess,  and  the  location  of  the  buildings  is  con- 
venient. The  average  daily  attendance  of  300  reaches  the  full 
capacity,  and  is  equally  divided  as  to  the  sexes.  The  average 
annual  expense  for  each  pupil  may  be  estimated  at  $5,  drawn  from 
a  small  monthly  tuition  fee,  and  any  deficit  being  made  up  from 
the  general  fund  of  the  congregation. 

As  regards  St.  Vincent's  school-building  for  the  boys,  three 
years  ago,  in  May,  1895,  necessity  existed  to  procure  a  new  build- 
ing. The  old  building  has  seen  its  best  days  and  served  its  pur- 
pose. It  was  during  this  month  of  May,  1895,  that  Very  Rev.  M. 
E.  Campion  concluded  to  erect  a  building  suitable  to  the  wants  of 
his  parish  and  one  which  would  be  a  credit  to  the  people  of  the 
parish  and  to  the  city.  Consequently  the  very  reverend  father  had 
the  old  building  torn  down  and  the  present  beautiful  building 
erected.  It  cost,  built  and  ready  for  use,  furnished  with  every 
modern  convenience,  $16,400,  and  is  three  stories  high.  The  first 
story  is  devoted  to  society  purposes,  the  second  to  school  pur- 
poses, and  the  third  contains  one  of  the  finest  halls  in  the  state — 
a  veritable  little  and  complete  opera  house  and  having  a  seating 
capacity  of  700.  There  is  every  reason  for  the  local  pride  had 
in  this  surpassingly  beautiful  building.  The  evening  it  was  dedi- 
cated the  press  of  Logansport,  September  18,  1895,  had  this 
to  say: 

The  opening  of  the  new  St.  N'incent's  institute  for  boys  proved  all  and  more 
than  the  most  sanguine  had  expected.     The  audience  was  large  and  fashionable, 

(M8r 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol"    INDIANA. 

llic  speeches  aprDiuis  and  willy,  .iiul  the  ir.iisic  all  liial  was  wanted  Id  ciiin|)lete  an 
evening  of  rare  pleasure  and  i)rofit.  ( )i  the  speech  making,  it  can  l)e  truly  said 
that  it  afforded  a  literary  feast  of  unusual  excellence.  Such  orators  as  Hon.  Fat- 
rick.  Keefe,  \'ery  Rev.  John  R.  Dinnen,  ex-Mayor  \i.  C.  D.  Reed,  Mayor  George 
P.  McKee,  Hon.  D.  P.  Baldwin  and  Rufus  Magee  were  on  the  program  and  each 
accpiitted  themselves  most  creditably.  Very  Rev.  M.  K.  Campion  officiated  skill- 
fully as  master  of  ceremonies.  The  Elite  .Mandolin  orchestra  furnished  music, 
and  vocal  selections  were  rendered  by  the  Carleton  (piartette,  James  I).  Murjihy, 
Little  Nora  McHale  and  Miss  Theresa  Hinder,  from  Chicago.  Frank  Hanley  also 
favored  the  audience  w-ith  one  of  his  pleasing  dances.  Throughout  the  building  is 
wired  with  (>lectric  lights  and  its  a])pointments  are  said  to  be  among  the  finest  in 
the  state. 

Father  Caniiiiou  and  his  tlock  are  U)  be  congratulated  ui)on  this  successful 
termination  of  their  wurthy  ambition. 

St.  Joseph's  School. — The  first  school  in  St.  Joseph's  parish 
was  opened  February  2,  1870,  in  an  old  building  that  had  pre- 
viously been  used  as  a  hotel.  From  1870  to  1877,  the  school 
passed  under  the  control  of  both  secular  and  religious  teachers,  but 
was  not  permanently  organized  until  September,  1877,  when  it 
was  given  in  charge  to  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  from 
Milwaukee.  The  school  then  numbered  sixty  pupils,  but  since 
that  time  the  enrolment  has  increased  to  288  pupils.  The  beauti- 
ful building  now  occupied  as  St.  Joseph's  school  was  erected  in 
1891,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  by  Rev.  H.  Ivoehne.  It  is  twenty-four 
feet  east  of  the  church,  on  the  corner  of  Second  and  Market 
streets,  is  built  of  brick,  with  stone  basement,  and  measures  70X  80 
feet.  The  main  entrance  is  on  Second  street.  This  new  school 
contains  a  hall  on  the  third  floor,  64x70,  six  well  furnished,  airy 
and  commodious  class-rooms,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  350 
children,  who  are  in  the  care  of  six  teachers.  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  under  the  Ven.  Sister  Aloysia.  The  school  is  supported  by 
a  monthly  tuition  fee  of  sixty  cents  from  pupils  able  to  pay  it,  and 
from  the  funds  of  the  congregation.  The  school-ground  is  ample 
and  its  value  is  estimated  at  $1,500.  The  school  itself,  with 
appurtenances,  is  worth  $25,000,  and  the  old  school  has  been 
remodeled  into  a  dwelling  for  the  teachers,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000. 
The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is  Rev.  H.  Koehne. 

St.  Bridget's  School  was  erected  in  1875,  by  Rev.  B.  Kroeger, 
at  a  cost  of  $9,000.    It  is  a  large  two-story  brick  structure,  100x44 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

feet,  situated  on  the  corner  of  Wheatland  and  Wilkinson  streets, 
and  is  now  used  as  a  church  and  a  school.  Beside  the  hall,  which 
at  present  serves  the  congregation  as  a  place  of  worship,  the  build- 
ing contains  four  cheerful  class-rooms,  which  afford  a  total  seating 
capacity  of  250  children.  There  is  now  an  enrolment  of  sixty-six 
boys  and  fifty-two  girls,  under  charge  of  three  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph. 
The  annual  outlay  for  the  school,  including"  the  salary  of  teachers, 
is  made  up  of  tuition  fees  at  the  rate  of  fifty  cents  a  month,  and 
money  taken  from  the  church  funds.  The  present  value  of  the 
school-ground,  including  play-ground,  is  $2,500,  and  the  value  of 
the  building,  with  its  appurtenances,  is  $9,500.  Rev.  B.  Kroeger 
is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 

MICHIGAN    CITY,     LAPORTE    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  School. — The  first  Catholic  school  established  in 
Michigan  City  was  built  in  1866,  by  Rev.  Father  Scherer,  at  a  cost 
of  $1,500.  The  teachers  of  this  school  were  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  who,  at  the  same  time,  opened  an  academy,  the  parochial 
school  being  taught  in  the  old  church.  The  present  two-story 
brick  school-house  was  erected  in  1886,  b}-  Rev.  J.  Bieckmann,  at 
a  cost  of  $19,865.  It  is  90 X  74  feet  and  contains  six  school-rooms 
and  a  hall,  84x35  feet,  the  attendance  being  321.  In  addition  to 
the  above  there  has  been  erected  an  academy,  known  as  St.  Mary's, 
at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  The  total  attendance  is  530,  and  the  teach- 
ers are  ten  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  The  reverend  director 
of  the  school,  at  present,  is  Rev.  John   Bieckmann, 

St.  Stanislaus'  School  was  erected  in  1891  by  Rev.  E.  J. 
Wrobel,  at  a  cost  of  $7,400.  It  is  a  large  two-story  frame  build- 
ing, 80  X  48  feet,  and  at  present  this  building  serves  the  double 
purpose  of  church  and  school.  Besides  the  hall,  which  serves  the 
congregation  as  a  place  of  worship,  the  building  contains  three 
cheerful  and  well  furnished  school-rooms,  witii  a  seating  capacity 
for  160  children.  The  present  enrolment  is  150  pupils,  with  an 
attendance  of  fifty-seven  boys  and  forty-six  girls.  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Cross  have  had  charge  of  the  school  since  its  organization, 
and  two  of  these  religieuse   are   now   engaged  as  teachers.      The 

(520r 


IN    THE    STATE    01--    INDIANA. 

first  teachers  were  Sister  Mary  Wilfrid  and  Sister  M.  Ladicjlaiis. 
The  average  annual  outlay  for  the  support  of  the  school,  including 
the  saiar}'  of  teachers,  is  $450,  which  amount  is  derived  from 
monthly  tuition  fees  of  fifty  cents.  The  yearly  expense  per  pupil 
is  about  $5.  The  value  of  the  school-ground,  including  play 
ground,  is  at  present  $1,500,  and  the  value  of  the  building  with  its 
appurtenances  is  $7,800.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the 
school  is  Rev.  E.   J.  Wrobel. 

MISIIAWAKA,     ST.     JOSEPH'S    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School  was  erected  in  1863,  by  Rev.  Henry 
Koenig,  at  a  cost  of  $600,  and  the  first  teacher  employed  was  Jacob 
Zahm.  However,  it  may  be  mentioned  that,  as  early  as  1847,  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  had  Mishawaka  in  view  as  a  suitable 
location  for  an  academy,  and  they  taught  school  there  for  a  short 
time;  but  in  1849  the}^  gave  up  the  place.  Nine  years  later  school 
was  opened  in  the  old  church  and  taught  there  by  Mr.  Venn  from 
1858  until  i860,  when  the  old  frame  church  was  burned,  which 
caused  the  school  to  be  discontinued  until  1863.  The  present 
school-house  consists  of  three  story  buildings,  one  brick  and  two 
frame,  whose  combined  dimensions  are  26  x  52  feet.  These  build- 
ings, completed  in  1877,  at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $2,100,  afford 
three  large  class-rooms  and  have  a  total  seating  capacity  of  240 
pupils,  but  the  present  attendance  is  268  children.  Some  of  these 
children  live  at  a  distance  of  over  three  miles  from  the  school. 
Seven  Sisters,  Poor  Handmaids  of  Christ,  are  in  charge  of  the 
school. 

The  present  value  of  the  school-ground,  including  play-ground, 
is  $5,000,  the  value  of  the  school  building,  with  appurtenances,  is 
about  $1,800.  The  house  occupied  by  the  Sisters  was  purchased 
by  the  reverend  pastor  in  1878.  Very  Rev.  A.  B.  Oechtering  is 
the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 

MONTEREY,  ITLASKI  COUNTY. 

Holy  Family  School,  the  first  in  the  parish,  was  erected  in 
Mofiterey  during  the  summer  of  1895,  by  Rev.  Charles  A.  Thiele. 
Connected  with  the  school  is  the   Sisters'  dwelling.      It   is   a   two- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

story  brick  structure,  65  x  24,  having  two  well  ventilated  and  fur- 
nished school-rooms  on  the  first  floor  and  a  hall  above.  The 
attached  Sisters"  building  is  30  x  24,  containing  eight  rooms. 
School  and  dwelling  were  built  and  furnished  at  a  cost  of  $3,000. 
The  school  is  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes  and  is  attended  by 
seventy-six  pupils;  thirty-seven  boys  and  thirty-nine  girls.  Each 
child  pays  a  monthly  tuition  of  twenty-five  cents  and  the  rest  of 
the  salary  is  taken  from  the  church  funds.  Father  G.  Zern  is 
the  present  reverend  director. 

MONROEVILLE,  ALLEN  COUNTY. 

The  School  of  St.  Rose  of  Lima,  now  in  course  of  erection,  is 
a  two-story  brick  structure,  29x50  feet.  Its  estimated  cost  is 
$3,500.  When  completed  it  will  consist  of  two  school-rooms  on 
the  first  floor,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  about  120  children,  and 
a  hall,  27x49  feet,  for  parochial  meetings,  on  the  second  floor.  It 
will  be  in  charge  of  religious  teachers,  and  will  have  a  probable 
enrolment  of  fifty  pupils,  twenty  boys  and  thirty  girls,  some  of 
whom  live  a  distance  of  three  and  one-half  miles  from  the  school. 
The  school  will  be  free,  and  the  means  necessary  for  its  support 
will  be  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  entertainments,  lectures,  etc.. 
supplemented  by  money  from  the  church  funds. 

The  school,  when  completed,  with  its  appurtenances,  will 
probably  be  worth  about  $4,000,  and  the  value  of  the  house 
bought  for  the  teachers'  residence  is  $233.  For  some  time  a  lady 
teacher  instructed  the  communion  class  for  two  months  each  year. 
Rev.  R.  Paquet  is  the  present  pastor  of  Monroeville. 

MUNCIE,     DELAWARE    COUNTY. 

St.  Lawrence's  School,  at  Muncie,  was  erected  in  the  summer 
of  1880  by  Rev.  William  Schmidt,  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,900.  It 
was  a  two-story  frame  structure,  45  x  35  feet,  and  contained  four 
school-rooms,  two  measuring  30  x  30  feet,  and  two  measuring 
I  5  X  30  feet.  These  rooms  had  a  seating  capacity  for  200  chil- 
dren, but  the  average  number  in  attendance  was  155.  The  first 
teacher  of  this  school  was  Rev.  William  Schmidt,  the  pastor  of 
the   congregation.      Unable   to    procure  teachers   during   the   first 

(522) 


I\    THE    STATE    Ol-    INDIANA. 

year  after  the  erection  of  the  school,  this  reverend  father  gener- 
ously devoted  his  time  and  talents  to  the  training  of  the  children 
of  his  parish.  In  i88r,  he  confided  the  school  to  the  care  of  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  from  Cleveland.  Ohio;  from  their  hands  it  passed 
into  those  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Af^nes,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.  At 
present  five  of  these  Sisters  are  in  charge;  and  the  school,  from  a 
single  ungraded  room,  in  the  beginning,  has  developed  into  a  well- 
graded  school  of  three  departments,  primary,  intermediate  and 
senior,  each  comprising  three  grades.  It  requires  nine  years  attend- 
ance at  school  to  go  through  the  course  of  studies,  giving  one  year 
to  each  grade.  This  system  of  grading  the  school  was  completed 
in  1892,  when  the  school  was  removed  to  its  present  location,  with 
another  room  and  teacher  added.  In  1897  the  church  was 
remodeled  and  two  rooms  were  added  to  the  school,  which  is  now 
attended  by  303  pupils.  The  school  revenue  is  derived  from 
monthly  tuition  fees  of  fifty  cents  from  single  pupils,  and  $1  from 
families  having  two  or  more  children  in  school.  In  case  of  a  defi- 
ciency of  revenue,  the  amount  needed  to  meet  the  demand  was 
taken  from  the  priest's  salary  until  four  years  ago;  now  it  is  taken 
from  the  funds  of  the  church.  The  present  value  of  school  grounds 
is  about  $4,000,  of  the  school  with  appurtenances,  $4,500;  and  of 
the  teachers' residence,  $3,500.  The  present  reverend  director  is 
Rev.  William  Schmidt. 

NEW    CORYDOX    P.     O.  ,     J.AY    COUNTY. 

Holy  Trinity  School  was  erected  in  Jay  county  in  1881,  at  a 
cost  of  $1,000,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Uphaus,  priest  of  the  Order  of 
the  Most  Precious  Blood.  It  is  a  two-story  frame,  30x25  feet, 
one-half  mile  east  of  Holy  Trinity  church,  near  the  convent  of 
the  Sisters  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood.  The  accommodations 
furnished  by  the  two  well-equipped  school-rooms  soon  drew  to  this 
little  nursery  of  education  124  children,  sixty-four  of  whom  were 
boys.  The  history  of  the  school  has  continued  unaltered  from  its 
foundation,  twelve  years  ago,  to  the  present  date.  Two  Sisters 
of  the  Most  Precious  Blood  are  in  charge  of  the  school,  and  its 
doors  are  open,  free  of  charge,  to  all  children  of  the  parish.  The 
annual  average  expense  for  each  pupil  is  about  $4;  and  the  outlay 

"(523) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

for  keeping  up  repairs  and  teachers'  salaries  is  $400,  which  income 
is  derived  from  pew  rent.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the 
school  is  Rev.  George  Fleisch,  C.  PP.  S. 

NEW  HAVEN.  ALLEN  COUNTY. 

St.  John  the  Baptist  School. — The  year  1865  saw  the  erec- 
tion of  the  first  Catholic  school  in  New  Haven,  by  Rev.  W. 
Giedle.  It  is  a  one-story  frame  building,  22  x  34  feet,  and  was 
put  up  at  a  cost  of  $500.  This  school-house  served  its  purpose 
until  1872,  when  it  became  necessary  to  build,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000, 
a  two-story  brick  structure,  40  x  50  feet,  to  furnish  additional 
room  and  a  dwelling  for  the  Sisters.  These  two  buildings,  adjoin- 
ing, give  four  rooms,  three  of  which  are  in  use,  and  have  a  seating 
capacity  for  180  children.  At  present  128  pupils  are  in  attend- 
ance, under  the  care  of  three  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes,  from  Fond  du 
Lac,  Wis.  These  religieuse  took  charge  in  1871,  before  which 
time  the  school  was  taught  by  seculars.  The  average  number  of 
boys  enrolled  is  seventy-three,  while  the  enrolment  of  girls  is  only 
fifty-seven.  The  annual  expenditure  for  the  school,  including  the 
teachers'  salaries,  is  $750.  Of  this  amount  one-half  is  paid  by 
the  congregation  and  the  other  half  is  derived  from  society  fees 
and  a  small  rate  of  monthly  tuition,  from  twenty-five  cents  to 
seventy-five  cents,  charged  to  pupils  who  are  able  to  pay.  The 
average  annual  expense  for  each  pupil  is  $v50.  The  present 
value  of  the  school-ground  is  $500,  and  of  the  school-buildings, 
with  appurtenances,  $9,000.  The  present  reverend  director  is 
Rev.  Bernard  Wiedau. 

OTIS,    LAFOKTE  COUNTY. 

Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  School. — The  first  Catholic  school  in 
Otis  was  erected  in  1877,  through  the  zeal  of  Rev.  Father  Machd- 
zicki.  at  a  cost  of  $2,  500.  It  is  a  two- story  frame  structure,  40  x  40 
feet,  contains  two  large  class-rooms,  which  have  a  seating  capacity 
for  100  children,  and  a  present  attendance  cf  seventy-two  pupils. 
Many  of  the  pupils  have  their  homes  in  the  country  at  a  distance 
of  from  one  to  ten  miles;  children  living  this  far  from  the  school 
board  in  the  building  during  the  term,  and  are  under  the  control  of 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  two  of  whom  are  employed  as  teachers. 
The  average  annual  outlay  for  the  school,  includinj^  the  salary  of 
teachers,  is  about  $900,  which  sum  is  made  up  of  tuition  fees  at 
fifty  cents  a  month,  and  funds  taken  from  the  church  treasury. 
The  average  expense  per  pupil  is  about  $1 1.84  a  year.  The  pres- 
ent value  of  the  school-ground,  including  play  ground,  is  $1,000, 
and  the  value  of  the  school  building  is  $3,500.  Rev.  Fr.  Raskie- 
wicz  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 

PERU,     MI.\>[I    COUNTY. 

School  of  St.  Charles  Barromeo. — The  first  building  intended 
for  school  purposes  iji  St.  Charles  parish  was  a  frame  structure  put 
up  in  1837,  by  Rev.  H.  J.Clarke,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000.  This  school- 
house  having  been  sold,  by  Rev.  Father  Force,  part  of  the  first 
old  church  was  used  as  a  school-room  from  i860  to  1865.  Upon 
the  completion  of  the  new  church,  in  1865,  Rev.  B.  Kroeger,  then 
pastor,  had  the  old  church  converted  into  school-rooms.  This 
building  was  consumed  by  iire  in  1874,  and  the  present  school- 
house  was  built.  The  first  teacher  employed  in  St.  Charles' school 
was  G.  Volkert.  He  had  as  successors  several  lay  teachers,  among 
them  Prince  Bismarck's  playmate.  Dr.  Rudolph  Ladislas  Miller, 
whose  life  reads  like  a  connected  series  of  romantic  links.  From 
the  control  of  this  man,  the  school  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Ursuline  Nuns,  who  taught  it  until  1872  or  1873,  when  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  who  are  still  in  charge.  Nine 
of  these  Sisters  are  now  occupied  in  the  school.  The  present 
building,  65  x  60  feet,  is  a  solid  brick  structure,  is  three  stories  high, 
and  was  erected  in  1874,  at  a  cost  of  $16,000,  including  the  Sisters' 
residence,  which  adjoins.  It  contains  six  school-rooms,  which 
have  seating  capacity  for  300  children.  At  present  there  are  250 
pupils  in  attendance,  of  whom  i  12  are  boys.  The  average  outlay 
for  the  school  is  $277,  taken  from  church  funds.  Of  this  amount 
$200  are  paid  as  salary,  and  the  balance  needed  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  teachers  is  derived  from  what  they  collect  as  tuition 
fees  at  fifty  cents  a  month.  The  average  expense  per  pupil  is  $5. 
The  present  value  of  the  school-ground  is  $2,000,  and  of  the  school- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

building,  with  appurtenances,  $io.OOO.      The  reverend  director,  at 
present,  is   Rev.  H.   Meissner. 

I'LVMOUTH,    MARSHALL  COl'NTV. 

St.  Michael's  School  was  erected  in  1870  by  the  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000,  and  is  both  a  day  and  boarding 
school.  The  principal  portion  of  the  building  is  50x40  feet,  to 
which  is  attached  a  wing,  50x35  feet,  that  is  used  as  dwelling 
apartments  for  the  Sisters  and  the  boarders.  The  main  portion 
of  the  building  contains  two  class-rooms  which  have  a  total  seat- 
ing capacity  for  160  children,  and  three  music  rooms,  one  of  which 
is  reserved  for  instruction  in  vocal  music.  At  present  there  are  in 
attendance,  including  the  boarding  pupils,  116  children,  under  the 
control  of  three  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  one  of  whom  is  a  music 
teacher. 

Prior  to  1870,  the  parochial  school  was  conducted  in  an  old 
frame  dwelling,  house.  The  teachers  who  preceded  the  Sisters  in 
St.  Michael's  school  began  their  work  there  in  i860,  and  were  suc- 
cessively. Miss  Dwyer,  Miss  Howard,  Miss  Buchanan,  Miss  Mona- 
han.  Miss  Day,  Mr.  Weber,  Mr.  Stevens  and  Miss  Kate  Stokes. 

The  Sisters,  having  entire  control  of  the  school,  collect  from 
the  pupils  the  revenue  necessary  for  its  maintenance.  This  con- 
sists of  a  tuition  fee  from  seNcnty-five  cents  to  $1  a  month,  from 
pupils  who  are  able  to  pay.  Poor  children  are  educated  free  of 
charge.  The  average  annual  expense  per  pupil  is  about  $5.  The 
value  of  the  school-ground  is  about  $1,500,  and  the  value  of  the 
school-building,  with  its  appurtenances,  is  $15,000.  Rev.  Charles 
Lemper  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 

RENSSELAER,     JASPER  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Indian  Normal  School. ^ — This  interesting  school 
was  erected  in  1888,  at  cost  of  $20,000,  by  the  venerable  Mother 
Catherine  Drexel.  for  the  exclusive  use  of  Catholic  Indian  chil- 
dren of  this  northwestern  territory.  It  consists  of  one  main  build- 
ing, with  workshop  attached,  and  is  a  solid  structure  of  stone  and 
brick,  in  the  form  of  a  square,  80  x  85  feet.  It  rises  three  stories 
above  a  fine  stone  basement   and   affords   accommodations  for  100 

(526r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

boys.  At  present  there  are  si.xty-four  liulicin  bo}S  in  the  instituticjii 
under  the  care  of  four  priests  of  the  order  of  the  Most  Precious 
Blood,  with  Reverend  Andrew  Gietl  as  director.  These  boys  are 
daily  instructed  in  all  the  branches  of  a  common  English  education, 
and  at  stated  times,  according  to  their  age  and  progress  in  school, 
are  taught  useful  trades  in  the  adjoining  workshops.  The  first 
teachers  were  Revs.  Fr.  Willard  and  Florian,  Hahn,  C.  PP.  S.  The 
school  is  supposed  by  quarterly  appropriations, per  capita,  from  the 
United  States  government,  and  its  doors  are  open  to  all  Catholic 
Indian  boys  sent  by  the  government. 

ST.     JOHN,   LAKE    COUNTY. 

St.  John's  School. — The  first  Catholic  school  in  this  town  was 
established  over  thirty-live  years  ago.  The  building  is  a  two-story 
frame  structure  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  from  the  church, 
directly  east  of  it,  and  has  its  main  entrance  on  the  west  side.  It 
contains  two  well  ventilated  and  well  furnished  school-rooms,  and 
has  seating  capacity  for  lOO  children.  At  present  the  enrolment 
is  140  pupils  taught  by  four  secular  teachers.  Many  of  the  children 
live  in  the  vicinity  of  the  school,  but  several  attend  from  a  distance 
of  three  miles.  The  present  reverend  pastor  of  the  congregation 
is  Rev.  A.  Heitmann. 

SCHERERVILLE,     LAKE    COUNTY. 

St.  Michael's  School  is  a  one-story  frame  building,  60  x  24 
feet,  was  erected  in  1868  at  a  cost  of  $1,200,  and  contains  two 
well  furnished  school-rooms,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  100  chil- 
dren. The  present  enrolment  of  pupils  is  fifty-three,  taught  by 
two  Sisters  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  Many  of  the  pupils  live  a  distance 
of  five  miles  from  the  school,  while  others  have  their  homes  in  the 
immediate  vicinity.  The  average  yearly  outla}-  for  the  school  is 
about  $1,200,  a  part  of  which  is  taken  from  the  church  funds,  the 
balance  being  supplied  from  the  district  school  fund.  The  average 
cost  per  pupil  is  about  $12.50.  The  present  reverend  pastor  and 
the  people  of  St.  Michael's  parish  hope  to  erect  and  to  support  a 
school  of  their  own  within  a  short  time — a  school  that  will  be 
entirely  Catholic.      The  value  of  the  dwelling  house  now  occupied 


32  (,527) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

by  the  Sisters  is  $600.      Rev.  \V.  Berg  is  the  present  pastor  of  St. 
Michael's  congregation. 

SHELDON,  ALLEN  COUNTY. 

St.  Aloysius  School  is  located  in  Pleasant  township,  about  a 
mile  and  one-half  northeast  of  the  town  of  Sheldon,  on  the  so- 
called  Bluffton  road,  and  is  about  ten  miles  south  of  Fort  Wayne. 
It  is  built  on  a  lot  of  ground  containing  four  acres,  of  which  one 
and  one-fourth  acres  are  in  use  for  a  graveyard,  together  with  the 
church,  pastoral  residence  and  Sisters'  dwelling  house.  The  first 
school-house  was  a  small  frame  building  erected,  in  1867,  by  Rev. 
William  Woeste,  and  was  used  for  school  purposes  only  during 
two  or  three  months  of  each  year.  It  was  then  in  charge  of  a 
secular  teacher  employed  by  the  reverend  Father  who  attended 
the  mission. 

On  October  17,  1876,  a  regular  parochial  school  was  opened 
by  Rev.  F.  Koerdt,  with  an  attendance  of  thirty-eight  pupils. 
This  reverend  Father,  realizing  that  the  school  is  the  foundation 
of  the  church,  gave  himself  with  admirable  self-sacrifice  to  the 
humble  task  of  teaching  it  for  two  years.  When  called  out  of  the 
school-room  to  attend  to  parochial  work,  he  was  replaced  by 
Master  Gottlieb  Schmoll,  a  talented  young  boy  of  fourteen,  from 
St.  Paul's  school.  Fort  Wayne. 

In  1879,  the  school  was  taught  by  Joseph  Kenning.  During 
the  next  three  years  Robert  Gruber  had  charge  of  it.  In  January, 
1883,  on  the  last  day  of  the  month,  the  school  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.  The 
present  new  school-house  was  erected  in  1882,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  August  loth  and  it  was  dedicated 
November  6th  of  the  same  year,  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  Benoit,  vicar- 
general  of  the  diocese,  performing  the  ceremony.  It  is  a  two- 
story  stone  and  brick  structure,  30x40  feet,  and  contains  two 
large  rooms,  the  one  on  the  second  floor  being  used  as  a  hall  for 
sodality  and  other  parochial  meetings.  The  school  would  accom- 
modate I  50  pupils,  but  the  parish  being  small,  forty  families,  the 
pupils  enrolled  number  thirty-eight  boys  and  thirty-three  girls,  but 
bad  roads  and  distance  from  school  frequently  cause  absence.    The 

(528r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

old  building  was  remodeled  in  the  fall  of  1882,  and  is  now  a  cozy 
dwelling  house  for  the  teachers,  of  whom  there  are  three.  Their 
revenue  is  derived  from  pew  rent  and  frc^n  the  contributions  of 
St.  Joseph's  society,  whose  members  pay  $4  per  year  as  fee  of 
membership.  This  arrangement  makes  the  school  free  to  all  chil- 
dren of  the  parish.  The  school-house  is  worth  $4,000,  the  teach- 
ers' dwelling  is  valued  at  $800,  and  the  one  acre  of  ground  at 
$100.      K.  J.  Denk  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 

SOUTH    BEND,    ST.    JOSEPH    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  School. — The  first  school-house  erected  in  St, 
Joseph's  parish  was  built  in  1852  by  Very  Rev.  Father  Sorin, 
C.  S.  C. ,  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,800.  The  first  teachers  were 
Sister  Misericorde,  Sister  Peter,  Sister  St.  John,  Sister  Eleanora 
and  Sister  Faustina  for  the  girls,  and  Brothers  Raymond,  Daniel, 
Romuald  and  Philip  for  the  boys.  All  these  religieuses  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Holy  Cross  order.  Up  to  1868  there  were  two  separate 
schools,  one  for  boys  and  one  for  girls.  In  that  year  the  schools 
were  united  and  taught  by  the  Sisters.  In  1881  another  attempt 
was  made  to  have  a  separate  school  for  boys,  but  after  a  few  years 
the  project  was  abandoned.  The  present  school-house  is  a  two- 
story  brick  building.  55.\55  feet,  erected  in  1885  at  a  cost  of 
$5,500,  and  later  an  addition  28x32  feet  was  built.  This  school- 
house  contains  four  school-rooms  with  a  total  seating  capacity  for 
270  children,  but  the  present  enrolment  is  156  boys  and  166  girls, 
under  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.  The  building  is  held  in  trust  by 
the  Sisters  and  kept  in  order  by  them.  Rev.  Nicholas  J.  Stoffel, 
C.  S.  C,  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 

St.  Mary's  School. — The  first  school  in  St.  Mary's  parish 
was  opened  by  Miss  Hannah  Jaminet,  in  the  little  room  that  now 
serves  as  the  sacristy  of  the  church.  In  1888  a  frame  building 
28  X  50  feet  was  erected;  in  1891  a  second  story  was  added,  which 
gave  two  additional  school-rooms.  In  1884  the  school  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  and  since  that  time  the 
number  of  pupils  has  increased  from  twenty-seven  to  an  attendance 
of  246   children,   and  four   Sisters   are   constantly  occupied  in  the 

(529) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

school.  The  seating  capacity  is  for  250  children.  The  expenses 
are  derived  from  tuition  fees  of  fifty  cents  a  month,  supplemented 
by  funds  from  the  church.  The  present  value  of  the  school-ground, 
including  the  play-ground,  is  $2,000,  and  of  the  building,  with 
appurtenances,  $3,500.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the 
school  is  the  worth}'  priest  who  built  it,  the  Rev.  P.  Johannes, 
C.  S.  C. 

St.  Patrick's  School  for  Boys — The  girls  of  this  parish  have 
always  attended  St.  Joseph's  academ}',  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Cross.  In  1865  a  separate  school  for  boys  was  opened 
by  the  Rev.  Father  Cooney,  C.  S.  C. ,  in  the  wing  of  the  old 
church.  In  1872  Rev.  D.  J.  Spillard,  C.  S.  C. ,  who  had  succeed- 
ed Rev.  Father  Cooney  as  pastor  of  the  congregation,  erected  a 
new  frame  school-house  at  a  cost  of  $1,600.  This  building  was 
removed  in  1888  to  its  present  location  on  South  Scott  street,  260 
feet  west  of  the  church,  but  within  the  same  inclosure.  It  is  a 
two-story  frame  structure,  28x30  feet,  fronting  Scott  street,  and 
contains  two  class-rooms,  which  have  a  total  seating  capacity  for 
100  children.  At  present  there  are  eighty  boys  in  attendance, 
under  the  control  of  two  teachers.  The  small  bo3's  are  taught  by 
Miss  Sarah  O'Neill  and  the  older  boys  by  Brother  Romanus,  C.  S. 
C.  This  Brother  was  preceded  in  the  school  by  Brothers  Aloy- 
sius,  Hilarian,  Hilary,  Theogine,  Justin,  Emanuel,  Benjamin,  Dan- 
iel, Raymond,  Urban  and  Hubert.  The  average  annual  expense 
for  maintaining  the  school  is  about  $700,  paid  from  the  revenue  of 
the  church.  The  annual  expense  per  pupil  is  nearly  $9.  At  pres- 
ent the  value  of  the  school-ground  is  about  $800,  and  the  value  of 
the  school-building  with  its  appurtenances  is  about  $2,000.  Rev. 
J.  W.  Clarke,  C.  S.  C,  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the 
school.  A  new  three-story  brick  school  is  now  in  the  course  of 
erection,  to  cost  about  $14,000. 

St.  Hedwig's  School. — The  first  school-house  built  in  this 
parish  was  a  frame  structure  put  up  in  1877  by  Rev.  \'al.  Czy/.ew- 
ski,  C.  S.  C,  at  a  cost  of  $600.  Two  years  later  this  building 
was  demolished  by  a  storm.      Afterward  the  present  site  on  Napier 

(530r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

street  was  purchased  and  a  one-story  frame  school,  90x32  feet, 
was  built.  This  gave  three  rooms,  which  are  still  in  use.  In  1877 
the  parish  had  greatly  increased,  and  to  meet  the  demand  for 
more  room,  a  two-story  brick  school-house,  64x44  feet,  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $7,000.  It  contains  ten  class-rooms,  and  the 
total  seating  capacity  was  760.  Since  then  this  congregation 
erected  a  spacious  three-story  brick  structure,  127.^  x  61  feet,  with 
basement,  at  a  cost  of  about  $20,000.  The  basement  has  six 
rooms;  the  first  and  second  floors  have  seven  rooms  each.  Of  the 
latter  twelve  are  used  as  class  rooms  and  two  as  library  and  direct- 
ors' office,  respectively.  The  third  floor  affords  a  parish  hall  with 
seating  capacity  for  1,000  persons  and  contains  a  beautiful  stage. 
Besides  this  the  schools  occupy  three  rooms  in  the  old  frame 
school.  The  number  of  teachers  has  increased  from  twelve  to 
fifteen,  and  the  pupils  from  721  to  1,017.  This  rapidly  growing 
school  is  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  A.  Zubowitcz. 

TEKKE  COUPEE,    ST.    JOSEPH  COUNTY. 

St.  Stanislaus  School. — ^This  congregation  is  small,  composed 
mainly  of  poor  people.  The  want  of  means  prevents  the  erection 
of  a  school-house.  Knowing,  however,  the  value  of  Christian  edu- 
cation, the  pastor,  Rev.  George  Kolesinski,  employs  a  lay  teacher 
and  pro  tempore  has  the  children  taught  in  the  parish  church. 
The  children  pay  a  monthly  tuition  fee.  The  school  is  attended 
by  fifty  children,  thirty  boys  and  twenty  girls.  The  pastor  hopes 
that  it  may  not  be  many  years  before  the  means  may  be  obtained 
to  erect  a  proper  structure  that  may  accommodate  the  little  ones 
of  this  rural  district. 

TIPTON,     TIPTON    COUNTY. 

St.  John's  School,  erected  in  1885  at  a  cost  of  $4,500,  is  a 
two-story  brick  edifice,  and  consists  of  a  main  portion,  65  x  35  feet, 
and  a  wing,  34  x  24  feet,  extending  to  the  rear.  It  contains  three 
class-rooms  and  a  hall,  65  x  35  feet.  The  school  has  a  seating 
capacity  for  200  children,  and  the  present  number  of  pupils  in 
attendance  is  168,  and  these  are  under  the  instruction  of  six  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph.      Many  of  these  children  live  in  the  vicinity  of 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  school,  but  some  attend  from  a  distance  of  five  miles.  The 
rate  of  tuition  is  sixty-five  cents  a  month.  The  present  value  of 
the  school-ground,  including  play-ground  is  $7,000,  and  of  the 
school,  with  its  appurtenances  $5,500.  At  present  the  reverend 
director  of  the  school  is  Rev.  A.  J.  Kroeger. 

TURKEY  CREEK,  LOTTAVILLE  P.  ().  ,  LAKE  COUNTY. 

This  parish  has  not  a  school  of  its  own.  The  children  in  the 
vicinity  are  ail  Catholic  and  a  Catholic  lay  teacher  is  employed. 
The  pastor  manages  to  teach  Christian  doctrine  by  calling  it  Ger- 
man or  Bible  reading.  The  teacher  must  use  the  public-school 
books,  and  follow  the  public-school  program  and  system  in  leach- 
ing. There  are  at  present  forty-six  children,  twenty-six  boys  and 
twenty  girls,  attending  this  school.  The  pastor  greatly  regrets  this 
deplorable  condition,  but  cannot  carry  on  an  entire  Catholic  school 
with  only  forty  families,  as  long  as  other  larger  parishes  are  satisfied 
with  such  schools.  Rev.  Charles  V.  Stetter,  D.  D.,  is  the  present 
reverend  director. 

UNION    CITY,    RANDOLPH    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  School  was  erected,  in  1875,  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Quin- 
lan,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  It  is  a  two-story  brick  structure,  70  x  40 
feet,  with  two  class-rooms  which  have  a  seating  capacity  for  170 
children.  In  addition  to  other  appurtenances,  the  school  is  in 
possession  of  a  valuable  library  of  400  volumes,  which  the  pupils 
may  use  as  books  of  reference  or  supplementary  reading.  The 
school  has  been  in  charge  of  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  since  its 
establishment,  and  at  present  three  of  these  religie  :ses  are  occupied 
there  in  teaching  ninety-two  pupils,  of  whom  forty-one  are  boys. 
The  annual  expense  per  pupil  is  about  $7.70.  At  present  the  chief 
source  of  income  for  the  school  is  an  endowment  of  $5,000,  which 
yields  a  yearly  interest  of  $400;  the  balance  required  to  complete 
the  amount  of  expenditure  is  taken  from  the  church  funds,  the 
school  being  free. 

The  present  value  of  the  school-ground,  including  a  spacious 
play-ground,  is  about  $1,000.  The  value  of  the  school  building, 
with  its  appurtenances,  is  $4,000;  and   the  value  of  the  teachers' 

(532)~ 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

residence,    erected   by   the   congregation,    is  $1,200.      Rev.    F.  A. 
King  is  the  present  reverend  director  of  the  school. 

VAT.PAKAISd,     PORTIiR    COUNTY. 

St.  Paul's  School  was  erected  in  1864  or  1865,  by  Rev.  M. 
O'Reilly,  at  a  cost  of  about  $3,000.  It  is  a  two-story  brick  build- 
ing, 40x60  feet,  and  when  first  opened  was  taught  by  Mrs.  K. 
Harrold  and  Prof.  Murphy.  They  were  succeeded  by  Miss  E.  A. 
Collins  and  Mr.  Noll,  afterwards  Rev.  Father  Noll,  who  died  in 
1880,  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  church,  LaFayette. 

In  1872  the  school  for  girls  and  the  primary  class  of  boys 
were  placed  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence.  For  a  number 
of  years  the  boys"  grammar  school  was  taught  by  Prof.  Sullivan, 
but  within  the  past  few  years  the  entire  charge  of  the  school  has 
been  transferred  to  the  Sisters. 

The  building  contains  four  class-rooms,  and  has  seating 
capacity  for  200  children.  Owing  to  the  removal  of  families  from 
Valparaiso,  the  number  of  pupils  attending  the  school  is  not  so 
large  as  formerly.  The  present  enrolment  is  forty-five  boys  and 
eighty-five  girls,  taught  by  five  Sisters  of  Providence.  The 
expenses  are  derived  from  tuition  fees  from  the  pupils,  at  an 
average  rate  of  fifty  cents  a  month,  from  those  who  can  pay.  The 
present  value  of  the  school-ground,  including  play-ground,  is 
$1,800,  and  of  the  school-building,  with  appurtenances,  $3,600. 
The  house  occupied  by  the  Sisters  belongs  to  them.  The  present 
reverend  director  of  the  school  is  Very  Rev.  Louis  A.  Moench. 

WANATAH,    LAPORTE    COUNTY. 

Holy  Guardian  Angel  School  is  a  two- story  frame  school- 
house,  20x24  feet,  and  was  erected,  in  1890,  by  Rev.  Dominic 
Shunk,  C.  PP.  S.,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000.  Although  small,  it  is  a  ' 
neat  building,  of  two  rooms,  with  seating  capacity  for  sixty  chil- 
dren. At  present  but  one  room  is  in  use,  as  the  number  of  pupils 
does  not  exceed  forty — equally  divided,  twenty  boys  and  twenty 
girls — under  the  tuition  of  one  Sister  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  this  school  is  that,  when  it  was  first 
opened,    it   was   attended    mostly   by  non-Catholic   children,    who 

~l533j 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

have  since  embraced  our  holy  faith  with  an  ardor  that  promises  a 
pious  Cathohc  Hfe  in  later  years.  After  first  holy  communion  the 
pupils  are  not  retained,  as  there  are  no  boarding  accommodations 
for  them  in  the  building,  and  many  of  the  children  drive  to  school 
every  day  from  a  distance  of  eight  miles.  The  average  annual 
outlay  for  this  school  is  about  $500,  which  amount  is  taken  from 
the  funds  of  the  church,  the  school  being  free  to  the  children  of 
pew  holders;  others  are  charged  a  tuition  fee  of  fifty  cents  a  month. 
The  average  expense  per  pupil  is  $12.50  a  year.  The  present 
value  of  the  ground,  one  acre,  used  for  school  purposes,  is  $2,000, 
and  the  value  of  the  building,  with  its  appurtenances,  is  $3,000. 
The  house  occupied  by  the  Sisters  belongs  to  the  congregation, 
and  is  worth  $600.  Rev.  Adam  Buchheit  is  the  present  reverend 
director  of  the  school. 

WHITING,    LAKE  COUNTY. 

St.  Michael's  School  is  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the 
church  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  of  which  Rev.  M.  J.  Bryne  was  the 
pastor.  Two  years  ago  a  residence  was  built  for  Sisters,  including 
one  large  class-room  for  advanced  scholars  at  a  cost  of  $2,000. 
Fire  having  destroyed  the  old  frame  school-building  April,  1897,  a 
a  new  two-story  brick  structure,  72  x  38,  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
$3,500.  On  the  first  floor  this  building  contains  three  large  class- 
rooms and  corridor,  furnished  with  all  modern  improvements.  A 
large  exhibition  hall  on  the  second  floor  is  used  for  entertainments 
at  present,  but  will  be  converted  into  class-rooms  as  soon  as 
needed.  Five  teachers  of  the  order  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence 
daily  impart  knowledge  to  204  pupils,  103  boys  and  loi  girls. 
The  school  is  in  admirable  working  order,  and  while  not  quite  self- 
supporting  is  nearly  so.  Support  is  raised  by  a  monthly  tuition 
fee.  Father  M.  J.  Byrne  was  the  reverend  director  until  trans- 
ferred to  the  cathedral  last  August  (1898),  when  he  was  replaced 
by  Rev.  Charles  H.  Thiele. 

WINAMAC,     PULASKI    COUNTY. 

St.  Peter's  School  is  a  one-story  frame  building,  40  x  28  feet. 
It  was  built  in  1872  by  Rev.  T.  Wittmer,  C.  PP.  S.,  and  contains 

(534r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA, 

but  one  school-room,  with  a  seating  capaicty  of  sixty  cliildren, 
although  at  present  its  enrolment  numbers  seventy-two.  Sisters 
of  the  Most  Precious  Blood  have  had  charge  of  the  school  since  its 
organization  in  1872,  and  at  present  two  Sisters  are  engaged  in  the 
class-room. 

The  annual  outlay  for  the  school,  including  the  salary  of  its 
teachers,  is  $450,  which  amount  is  furnished  by  the  congregation, 
the  school  being  free;  and  the  average  annual  expense  for  each  pupil 
is  $5.50.  The  present  value  of  the  school-ground  is  $200  and  of 
the  building,  $800.  The  house  occupied  by  the  teachers  is  their 
own  property.  The  present  reverend  director  of  the  school  is 
Rev.  J.  Uphaus. 


(535) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    HIGHER    ORDER     OF    CATHOLIC    EDUCATIONAL     INSTITUTIONS    OF 
INDIANA — ACADEMIES — COLLEGES UNIVERSITIES,     ETC. 

IN  order  to  preserve  the  typographical  consistency  of  this  work 
on  CathoHcity  in  Indiana,  the  higher  class  of  Catholic  educa- 
tional institutions  in  Indiana  are  arranged  here  in  the  same  manner 
in   which    are    arranged   the    parochial    schools   in    the   preceding 

chapter. 

INDIANAPOLIS,    MARION    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Academy,  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  is  situated  on  East 
Maryland  street.  No.  113,  between  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware 
streets,  about  three  squares  from  the  Union  depot.  This  location 
makes  it  convenient  of  access,  and  is  still  so  far  removed  from  the 
business  part  of  the  city  as  to  possess  the  quiet  requisite  for  a  placa 
of  its  kind.  The  building  is  new  and  commodious,  and  well  adapted 
for  educational  purposes.  It  is  also  spacious  and  affords  ample 
accommodations   for  fifty  boarders  and  300  day  scholars. 

The  utmost  care  and  attention  are  devoted  to  health  and  com- 
fort. In  case  of  sickness,  parents  or  guardians  are  immediately 
informed,  a  physician  is  summoned,  and  every  alleviation  which 
kindness  can  suggest  bestowed. 

The  academy  being  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis,  the  moral  and  religious  training  of  the  youthful  minds 
confided  to  them  is  of  paramount  importance.  Difference  of  creed 
forms  no  obstacle  of  admission,  but,  to  maintain  order,  all  the 
pupils  are  required  to  be  present  at  the  public  religious  exercises. 
The  religious  opinions  of  non-Catholic  pupils  are  not  interfered 
with;  their  normal  training  alone  is  taken  into  consideration.  The 
discipline  is   mild,  but  vigilant  and   energetic,    and   every  effort  is 

(536) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

made  to  qualify  the  pupil  to  occupy,  in  after  life,  the  respective 
stations  assigned  them  by  the  Divine  Controller  of  human  destinies 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  personal  happiness  and  the  comfort 
of  those  by  whom  they  are  surrounded,  and  above  all,  to  win  the 
approbation  of  the  Omnipotent  Judge  and  Rewarder.  General 
deportment  is  the  subject  of  unremitting  care.  The  pupils  are 
taught  to  avoid  all  that  is  rude,  and  if  found  insubordinate,  un- 
truthful and  disrespectful  to  teachers,  and  remain  incorrigible  after 
due  admonition,  become  liable  to  expulsion  from  the  academy. 
The  course  of  study  is  thorough,  comprehensive  and  practical, 
embracing  all  the  branches  of  a  solid  and  accomplished  education. 
All  who  enter  the  academy  are  expected  to  take  the  regular  aca- 
demic, business,  musical  or  artistic  course,  unless  for  cogent  rea- 
sons the  partial  course,  consisting  of  special  studies,  be  desired. 
The  classes  are  so  arranged  that  pupils  advanced  in  some,  but 
deficient  in  other  branches,  may  perfect  themselves  in  whatever 
they  are  defective  without  losing  their  rank  in  the  grade  to  which 
their  general  scholarship  entitles  them. 

St.  Mary's  is  certainly  well  deserving  of  the  patronage  of  the 
public.  Catholic  and  non-Catholic,  and  parents  and  guardians  can 
rest  assured  that  all  pupils  placed  in  this  institution  will  be  gradu- 
ated pure  in  spirit  and  fitted  for  the  practical  duties  of  life,  as  well 
as  for  the  adornment  of  society. 

LAFAYETTE,     TIPPECANOE    COUNTS'. 

St.  Ignatius  Academy. — This  is  a  beautiful  three-story  brick 
structure  adjoining  St.  Mary's  church  on  the  west.  It  occupies  a 
commanding  situation  in  tastefully  laid  out  grounds,  and  has  all 
the  latest  improvements  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  educa- 
tional work.  Besides  an  academy  for  advanced  grades,  it  also 
contains  the  classes  of  the  parochial  school  for  girls.  To  sum- 
marize: 

Grades,  eleven;  pupils,  135;  average  daily  attendance.  115; 
teachers.  Sisters  of  Providence;  time  of  school,  ten  months  in  the 
year;  terms  in  year,  four;  free  days  (exclusive  of  Saturdays  and 
holy  days  of  obligation).  Thanksgiving  day,  Washington's  birth- 
day, St.  Patrick's  day  and   Decoration  day;  course  of  instruction: 

"(537) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Christian  doctrine,  sacred  history,  singing,  penmanship,  spelHng, 
reading,  geography,  United  States  history,  grammar,  bookkeeping, 
church  history,  physiology,  arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  ancient 
history,  modern  history,  physical  geography,  natural  philosophy. 
The  volumes  in  the,  library  number  165. 

LOGANSPOKT,     CASS    COUNTY. 

In  1863  Rev.  George  Hamilton,  pastor  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul's  church,  Logansport,  applied  to  the  mother-house  of  the 
Sisters  of  Holy  Cross,  Notre  Dame,  Ind.,  for  Sisters  to  open  a 
boarding  and  day  school  in  a  large  brick  building,  situated  on  the 
corner  of  Market  and  Second  streets. 

The  first  Sisters  who  came  here  were  Sister  Alphonsus,  supe- 
rior, accompanied  by  Sisters  Mildred,  Colette  and  Felicity.  They 
opened  with  a  good  school,  boys  and  girls  being  taught  in  the 
same  building.  They  were  not  here  long  until  the  parents  of  the 
children  began  to  appreciate  the  good  work  that  was  being  accom- 
plished in  the  minds  and  souls  of  the  little  ones,  and  their  grate- 
ful hearts  went  out  in  sympathy  to  pastor  and  teachers. 

In  1 87 1  the  Sisters  purchased  a  beautiful  building  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Ninth  street  and  Broadway;  said  building  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Holy  Angels'  academy,  which  opened  September  4, 
1 87 1.  This  institution  comprises  four  departments,  primary, 
junior,  preparatory  and  senior. 

The  course  of  study  combines  the  solidity  of  the  scientific 
and  literary  pursuits,  with  those  light  and  more  graceful  accom- 
plishments which  throw  a  charm  over  domestic  life  and  contribute 
so  essentially  to  elevate  the  form  of  society  at  large. 

Many  of  the  Sisters  who  came  to  Logansport  in  the  'sixties 
have  passed  to  their  eternal  reward,  but  the  good  work  they  began 
goes  nobly  on,  and  Holy  Angels'  academy  sends  forth  from  her 
secluded  halls  young  ladies  of  every  denomination,  whose  talents 
and  virtues  speaks  volumes  for  their  alma  mater,  and  for  the  suc- 
cessful efforts  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  who  were  the  pio- 
neer teachers  and  prime  movers  in  educational  matters  in  northern 
Indiana,  beginning  far  back  in  the  'forties,  and  to-day  Holy 
Angels'  academy  holds   the   position   of  being"one  of  the  leading 

JEmT 


UNIVERSITY  O 
NOTRE  1 


NO! 

ME,  1 


yo 


NOTRE  DAME, 

VIE,    IND. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

academies   in    the    state  —  teachinir    within    her    h.ilk    evervthinL'' 
taught  in  the  best  high  schools. 

NOTRE    DAME,   ST.    JOSEPH    COUNTY. 

The  University  of  Notre  Dame  du  Lac  in  St.  Joseph  county, 
Ind.,  is  so  vast  in  its  scope  as  an  institution  of  learning,  both  in  its 
curriculum  and  its  architectural  adjuncts  and  adornments,  that  but 
a  meager  description  can  be  offered  to  the  reader  in  so  compend- 
ious a  work  as  the  History  of  Catholicity  in  Indiana,  and.  there- 
fore, the  following  paragraphs  will  consist  of  matter  statistical  and 
chronological  rather  than  descriptive  or  didactic. 

The  congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross  had  its  origin  in  the  city 
of  Mans,  France,  and  was  founded  by  the  Abbe  Moreau,  who  soon 
afterward  absorbed  the  society  known  as  the  Brothers  of  St.  foseph, 
which  had  been  founded  by  Father  Dujarier,  a  survivor  of  the 
French  revolution.  Father  Edward  Sorin,  who  was  born  near 
Laval,  France,  February  6,  1814,  became  one  of  the  earliest  mem- 
bers of  the  new  congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross  (C.  S.  C);  he  had 
listened  to  the  burning  words  of  the  sainted  Brute,  later  the  first 
bishop  of  Vincennes,  when  that  divine  was  on  a  visit  to  France, 
appealing  for  missionary  aid  for  the  wilds  of  Indiana,  and,  accord- 
ingly, when  Bishop  Hailandiere.  the  successor  of  Bishop  Brute, 
made  an  application  to  Father  Moreau  for  volunteers  for  the  Indi- 
ana missions.  Father  Sorin  at  once  offered  himself.  With  him 
four  professed  Brothers  and  two  novices  also  volunteered.  This 
band  of  seven  left  the  mother  house  at  Mans,  August  5,  1841;  on 
the  8th  left  Havre,  as  steerage  passengers,  to  practice  evangelical 
poverty  and  to  save  money  for  the  new  mission,  and  September  13 
entered  the  bay  of  New  York.  The  venerable  Bishop  Dubois,  of 
New  York,  received  the  little  band  with  fatherly  affection,  and 
after  it  had  rested  three  days  it  started  for  Vincennes,  and,  after  a 
journey  of  twenty-five  days,  reached  its  destination  on  the  second 
Sunday  in  October.  For  over  a  year  the  community  was  located 
at  St.  Peter's,  about  twenty-seven  miles  from  Vincennes,  in  Daviess 
county,  and  within  this  time  eight  accessions  were  made  to  the 
order.  It  had  been  in  contemplation  to  erect  a  college  at  this 
point,  but,  as  there  was  already  a  Catholic  college  at  Vincennes. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  bishop  demurred  and  offered  the  community  a  tract  of  land  he 
owned  on  the  St.  Joseph  river,  provided  a  college  should  be  erected 
thereon  within  two  years.  After  due  consideration  of  the  proposal 
the  Brothers  decided  to  accept,  and  November  16,  1842,  Father 
Sorin,  with  seven  of  the  Brothers,  set  out  for  the  new  location; 
after  traveling  through  the  wilderness,  in  bitterly  cold  weather, 
they  stood  on  the  ice-bound  shore  of  lake  St.  Mary,  November  26, 
enchanted  with  the  marvelous  beauties  of  the  scene  of  their  future 
labors.  The  ground  was  historic.  Here  had  labored  a  Badin,  a 
Deseille,  a  Petit;  and  over  200  years  prior  to  the  arrival  of  Father 
Sorin  hundreds  of  Indians  had  been  converted  to  the  Catholic  faith, 
and  of  the  descendants  of  these  Christianized  aborigines  hundreds 
were  found  still  living  in  the  St.  Joseph  region  at  the  time  of  the 
arrival  of  Father  Sorin. 

The  total  amount  of  money  at  the  command  of  the  young 
community,  on  its  arrival  at  the  lakes,  was  $1,500.  A  plan  had 
been  prepared,  under  Bishop  de  la  Hailandiere,  for  the  erection  of 
a  brick  building,  40  x  160  feet,  in  shape  like  the  letter  H,  and  60,- 
000  feet  of  lumber,  250,000  brick,  and  the  necessary  lime,  were 
ordered,  to  be  on  the  spot  in  the  spring;  but  the  urgent  need  was 
a  building  for  immediate  use.  Accordingly,  material  and  labor 
were  volunteered  and  a  log  structure,  24x46  feet,  was  erected,  in 
December,  but  was  not  blessed  until  St.  Joseph's  day,  March  19, 
1 843.  But  this  building  was  needed  for  other  purposes  than  a  chapel, 
and  a  second  story  was  added  as  a  dormitory  for  the  Sisters,  who  were 
expected  to  arrive  from  France  the  same  spring, to  take  charge  of  the 
domestic  department  of  the  university,  and  a  little  Indian  chapel, 
erected  by  Father  Badin  about  1 830,  was  utilized  as  a  dormitory  for 
the  Brothers — but  these  improvements  depleted  the  exchequer  of  the 
community  to  the  extent  of  $200.  The  winter  of  1842  was  the 
most  severe  that  had  ever  been  experienced  in  the  United  States, 
and  the  succeeding  building  season  was  allowed  to  pass  away  by 
the  architect  without  his  attempting  to  fulfill  his  contract.  The 
outlay  for  material,  and  the  expenses  for  the  support  of  the  com- 
munity, had  now  completely  exhausted  the  exchequer,  but  it  was 
determined  upon  that  the  erection  of  some  kind  of  a  brick  building 
must  be  made,  and  the  result  was  a  square  house,  now  known  as 

(544r 


IN    THE    STATK    OF    INDIANA. 

the  Farm  house,  at  the  edge  of  the  lake.  This  served  for  collegi- 
ate purposes  for  nearly  a  year,  the  first  pupil  being  Ale.xis  Cof]uil- 
lard,  afterward  the  wealthy  wagonmaker  of  South  Bend.  The 
terms  per  quarter  for  students  were  fixed  at  $i8,  for  tuition,  board, 
washing  and  mending. 

The  second  colony  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross 
sailed  from  France  June  6,  1843,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Francis 
Cointet,  and  with  him  Fathers  Marivault  and  Gouesse,  and  one 
Brother  and  four  Sisters.  The  time  of  Father  Cointet  was  about 
equally  divided  between  his  classes  and  his  labors  with  the  Indians, 
and  as  an  illustration  of  the  simple  manners  and  the  poverty  of 
the  Fathers  in  that  day,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Fathers  Sorin 
and  Cointet  had  but  one  hat  and  one  pair  of  boots  between  them. 
But  their  souls  were  in  the  work,  and  their  constancy  never 
weakened.  Father  Cointet,  however,  perished  in  the  cholera  epi- 
demic of  1854. 

August  24,  1843,  the  architect  and  two  workmen  arrived  from 
Vincennes,  but,  as  funds  had  been  exhausted,  the  question  of  com- 
mencing work  on  the  college-building  proper  was  a  question  of 
serious  debate.  However,  Father  Marivault  offered  to  draw  for 
$1,200  due  him  from  his  family  in  France;  Samuel  Byerle}',  a  mer- 
chant at  South  Bend,  offered  a  credit  of  $2,000  at  his  store, 
beside  a  loan  of  $500  in  cash,  and,  thus  encouraged,  the  work  was 
begun.  August  28,  1843,  the  corner-stone  was  laid,  and  by 
December  20  the  walls  were  up  and  the  building  under  cover. 
The  next  season  the  interior  work  was  finished.  This  building  was 
the  cross-mark  in  the  ground-plan  of  the  letter  H,  or  the  handle  of 
a  "double  headed  hammer,  "  was  four  stories  high,  80x36  feet, 
and  was  all  the  community  could  afford  to  build  from  the  original 
design.  To  this  new  edifice  the  students  were  at  once  removed 
from  the  structure  on  the  lake  shore,  and  in  August  following 
(1844)  the  closing  exercises  01  the  first  year  took  place.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1844,  Hon.  John  D.  Defrees,  member  of  the  legislature  from 
St.  Joseph  county,  secured  a  charter  for  the  university,  enabling  it 
to  confer  the  usual  degrees  upon  its  graduates,  and  thus  the  uni- 
versity of  Notre  Dame,  now  one  of  the  most  famous  institutions  of 
learning  in  the  Union,  became  a  legal  entity. 

"(545) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

In  May,   1844,  the  corner-stone  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Novitiate 
on  the    "  Island  "  was  laid  and  blessed,  and  at  its  completion  was 
consecrated  December    8,  and  on  the  same  day  the  Arch  Confra- 
ternity, the  oldest  religious  society  at  Notre  Dame,  was  solemnly 
established.      The  chapel  served  as  the  sanctuary  of   the  commu- 
nity until  1848,  when  a  new  brick  church  was  consecrated.    In  Sep- 
tember,  1844,  the   annual  course  of  study   in   the  college  proper 
may  be  said  to  have  begun,  and  August  i,  1845,  at  the  commence- 
ment, a  poor  orphan  boy,  of  Philadelphia,  named  Haquin,  carried 
off  first  honors,  thus  showing  the  impartiality  of   the  faculty,  who 
gave  no  consideration  to  the  financial  standing  of  the  students,  but 
rewarded  merit  alone.      The  faculty  comprised  Father  Sorin,  presi- 
dent;  Father  Alexis  Granger,  vice-president;  Father  Cointet,  pro- 
fessor   of    ancient    languages;    Father    Gouesse,    music;    Brother 
Gatien,    mathematics;   Rev.    E.    Shawe,   rhetoric;   Gardner  Jones, 
English    composition;     Denis    O'Leary,     Brother    Basil,     Father 
Shortis,  Prof.    Girac   and    Prof.  Burns,  general   tutors.      The   first 
catalogue  of   students  was  issued  in    1848,  and  the  commencement 
took  place   July  4.     Among  the  premiums  awarded  on  that  occa- 
sion was  one  to  Thomas  Lafontaine,  of  Huntington,  Ind.,  a  son  of 
the  chief  of  the  Miamis,  and  among  the  students  were  the  names  of 
attendants  from  Indiana.  Michigan,  Missouri,  New  York,  Ohio  and 
Pennsylvania.      At  the  commencement  of    1849  was  graduated  the 
first  bachelor  of   arts — Neal  H.  Gillespie,  who  was  ordained  priest 
in    1856.      The   second   catalogue    was  printed   in    1850,  at   South 
Bend,  and  bore  on   its  title-page  the  imprint   of   S.    Colfax — the 
Schuyler  Colfax  who    afterward   became  speaker  of   the  national 
house  of    representatives  and   later  vice-president   of    the    United 
States. 

The  manual  labor  school  of  the  college  was  also  chartered  by 
the  legislature  in  1844,  and  was  secured  through  the  kindly  offices 
of  Representative  Defrees,  and  in  this  were  and  are  given  lessons 
in  carpentry,  cabinetmaking,  blacksmithing,  shoemaking.  tailoring, 
bricklaying,  gardening,  farming  and  various  other  industries.  The 
dense  forest  within  the  grounds  of  the  original  college  tract  has 
been  cleared  away  by  the  Brothers,  save  on  the  margin  of  the 
lakes,  where   the  native  groves  are   preserved,  the   cleared  space 

(546) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

being  now  devoted  to  agriculture  and  ornamented  pleasure 
grounds.  In  the  meadow  between  the  lakes  rises  the  island,  of 
early  days,  now  called  Mount  St.  Vincent,  and  here  stands  the 
hospital  and  the  normal  school  for  the  Brothers  of  the  community, 
on  the  site  of  the  former  novitiate.  A  continuous  native  grove 
embraces  both  lakes,  with  the  meadow  and  Mount  St.  Vincent 
between,  and  within  this  grove  is  nestled  Holy  Cross  seminary. 

In  1 85 1,  the  Lake  Shore  railroad  was  completed  to  South 
Bend,  and  soon  afterward  to  Chicago,  and  to-day  no  less  than  five 
trunk  lines  connect,  via  South  Bend,  the  university  with  the  out- 
side world,  facilitating  the  coming  and  going  of  the  constantly 
increasing  number  of  students  at  this  now  classical  university.  In 
1 85 1,  also,  Notre  Dame  was  given  a  post-office  through  the  kind 
interposition  of  the  then  great  statesman,  Henry  Clay. 

In  1853,  the  number  of  students  had  so  increased  that  it 
became  necessary  to  complete  the  two  wings  of  the  "double  ham- 
mer," as  planned  by  the  original  Vincennes  architect.  These,  it 
was  thought,  with  the  connecting  college  building,  would  be  com- 
modious enough  for  a  generation  to  come.  But  about  this  time, 
cholera  devastated  many  parts  of  the  west,  and  in  the  summer  of 
1854  many  of  the  community  were  attacked  by  the  fell  disease, 
and  among  the  first  to  succumb  was  the  holy  priest,  Father  Coin- 
tet.  He  was  followed  to  the  grave  by  Father  Curley,  who  had 
been  ordained  only  the  year  previous,  and  b}-  about  twent\-  of  the 
community.  In  September,  when  the  absent  students  returned 
from  their  vacation,  the  surviving  professors  had  not  recovered 
from  their  prostration,  and,  as  the  college  had  been  used  as  a  hos- 
pital, it  had  to  be  renovated  from  top  to  bottom  and  disinfected, 
and  this  work  had  to  be  done  by  the  weakened  Brothers,  who  were, 
in  fact,  convalescent  only.  But  at  last  all  difficulties  were  over- 
come. A  strip  of  land  between  the  lakes  and  the  river,  through 
which  the  outlets  of  the  lake  found  their  way,  and  was  consequently 
marshy  and  malarious  and  the  cause  of  much  sickness,  was  now 
purchased  by  the  Brothers  from  the  man  who  had  heretofore 
refused  to  sell  on  better  terms,  and  this  strip  was  drained,  the  lakes 
lowered,  and  the  site  of  the  university  made  one  of  the  most 
healthy  and  beautiful  in  the  world. 

33  (.547) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Father  Sorin  had  proposed  to  estabhsh,  near  the  universit}', 
a  young  ladies'  academy,  to  be  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  but  met  with  the  opposition  of  his  bishop,  and  in  con- 
sequence this  school  was  fixed  in  another  diocese  at  Bertrand, 
Mich.,  six  miles  north  of  Notre  Dame,  and  was  completed  in  1846. 
This  school  later  came  under  the  charge  of  Mother  Angela,  known 
to  the  world  as  Miss  Elize  Maria  Gillespie,  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
a  relative  of  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  secretary  of  state  under  Presi- 
dent W.  H.  Harrison.  Miss  Gillespie  was  also  a  sister  of  Father 
Gillespie,  of  Notre  Dame,  but  had  retired  from  the  vanities  of 
capitoline  life,  to  enter  the  novitiate  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  at 
Chicago;  had  stopped  at  Notre  Dame  to  bid  her  brother  farewell, 
but  was  induced  to  go  to  France  and  prepare  herself  for  the  charge 
of  the  infant  community  at  Bertrand,  and  after  her  return  was 
made  its  superior  under  the  name  of  Mother  Angela.  In  1855, 
the  mother  house  of  the  Sisters  was  removed  from  Bertrand  to 
Notre  Dame,  one  mile  we^t  of  the  university,  and  from  St.  Mary's 
academy,  as  well  as  from  Notre  Dame  university,  schools  have 
been  established  throughout  the  country,  from  Washington,  in  the 
east,  to  San  Francisco,  in  the  west. 

Although  bells  have  always  been  in  use  at  Notre  Dame  (the  first 
one  is  now  in  the  Bishops'  Memorial  Hall),  it  was  not  until  1856  that 
the  present  chime  of  twenty-three  bells  arrived  from  France.  These 
bells  weigh  from  fourteen  pounds  to  1,400  pounds  each,  and  are 
rung  by  clock-work.  Their  position  is  in  the  new  church  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  over  100  feet  from  the  earth's  surface,  and  beneath 
them,  in  the  same  tower,  swings  the  great  bell,  which  weighs 
17,000  pounds,  the  sound  of  which  can  be  heard  at  a  distance  of 
twenty-five  miles. 

In  1858  the  northern  part  of  Indiana  was  erected  as  a  sepa- 
rate diocese — that  of  Fort  Wayne — and  soon  after  his  consecra- 
tion, the  first  bishop.  Right  Rev.  John  Henry  Luers,  made  a  visit 
to  Notre  Dame,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  community. 

During  the  late  Civil  war,  there  was  not,  perhaps,  a  battle 
field  on  which  the  blood  of  Notre  Dame  students  was  not  shed  in 
the  Union  cause.  Numbers  of  Sisters,  led  by  Mother  Angela, 
served  in  the  hospitals  of  the  south  and  west,  and  no  less  than 

(MST 


IN    TH1-:    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

seven  priests  went   as  chaplains   in    the  army,  viz:      l-'athers  Will- 
iam   Corby.     Peter    P.    Cooney,   Joseph  C.    Carrier.    Paul  Gillen, 
James   Dillon,   Joseph    Leveque  and   Bourget.      Father  Sorin   had 
always  encouraged  military  exercises,  and   in  1S59  a  company  was 
formed,  composed  of  students,  denominated  the  Continental  cadets, 
under  William  F.  Lynch,  an  excellent  tactician,  as  well  as  a  com- 
pany of   junior  students,  called    the  Washington  cadets.      Almost 
every   member  of   the   Continentals  took  part  in  the  war.      Capt. 
Lynch  became  colonel  of  the  Fifty-eighth   Illinois  infantry,    and 
afterward  a  brigadier-general,  was  wounded   while   in  command  in 
the  southwest,  and  died   from   his  injury   a   few  years    later.      Rob- 
ert W.  Healey,  another  soldier-student,  also   attained   the  rank  of 
general. 

November  3,  1863.  there  was  great  rejoicing  at  Notre  Dame, 
as  230  students  had  registered.  When  the  enlarged  college- edifice 
of  1853  had  been  erected,  to  accommodate  200  students,  it  was 
thought  it  would  serve  for  many  years  to  come;  but  now,  ten 
years  later,  were  230.  Later  300,  400.  and  even  500,  pressed  for 
adm'ssion;  every  inch  of  space  in  the  college  and  its  adjunctive 
buildings,  including  Washington  hall,  was  utilized  for  tuition 
purposes,  and  accordingly,  in  1865,  preparations  were  made  to 
demolish  the  old  and  to  erect  a  new  college,  a  full  description  of 
which  will  be  given  in  paragraphs  yet  to  follow,  as  it  is  here 
necessary  to  interject  a  few  words  relative  to  the  second  president 
of  the  university — Father  Patrick  Dillon.  A  young  man  of  twenty- 
six  years.  Father  Patrick  (as  he  was  called,  in  order  to  distinguish 
him  from  his  brother.  Father  James,  mentioned  above  as  a  chap- 
lain afterward  in  the  army),  became  vice-president  of  the  uni- 
versity in  1858,  and  in  1865  Father  Sorin  was  well  content  to 
leave  the  management  of  affairs  in  hands  so  capable;  consequently 
Father  Dillon  became  the  second  president  of  the  university. 
Aided  by  Prof.  Lucius  G.  Tong  and  Prof.  J.  A.  Lyons,  he  first 
developed,  or  added,  the  commercial  to  the  classical  course  of  the 
college,  and,  later,  with  the  aid  of  Rev.  Joseph  C.  Carrier,  he  estab- 
lished the  scientific  course,  and  supplemented  the  degrees  in  arts 
with  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  science  and  master  of  science — the 
first  graduate  with   the   degree   ot    bachelor  of  science,    in    1865, 

"T549J 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

being  John  Cassidy,  afterward  prominent  as  a  physician  of  South 
Bend.  The  study  of  medicine,  at  this  time,  was  also  introduced. 
Rev.  Father  Neyron,  who  had  been  a  surgeon  in  Napoleon's  army 
before  he  became  a  priest,  being  placed  at  the  head  of  this  depart- 
ment. 

Reverting,  now,  to  the  new  college-building,  let  it  be  said 
that  President  Dillon,  in  June,  1865,  demolished  most  of  the  old 
and  finished  the  new  in  May  following.  The  new  building,  Sox  160 
feet,  and  six  stories  in  height,  was  dedicated  May  31,  by  Arch- 
bishop Spalding,  of  Baltimore,  assisted  by  five  bishops  and 
numerous  priests.  Father  Dillon,  soon  after  the  dedication,  went 
to  France,  where  he  passed  two  years,  and  on  his  return  to 
America  filled  for  a  short  time  the  pastorate  of  St.  Patrick's  church 
in  Chicago,  and  died,  after  a  short  illness,  November  15,   1868. 

Following  Father  Dillon,  in  August,  1872,  came  Father  Will- 
iam Corby,  as  president,  and  Father  Augustus  Lemonnier,  as  vice- 
president,  of  Notre  Dame  university — the  latter  being  a  nephew  of 
Father  Sorin  and  both  having  been  prefects  of  discipline  under 
Father  Dillon.  Father  Corby,  the  apostle  of  the  field  of  Gettys- 
burg, whose  absolution  was  given  to  thousands  who  found  but  a 
lew  hours  later  their  habiliments  of  war  their  winding-sheets,  was 
decorated  in  1893  with  a  medal  of  honor  by  the  state  of  New 
York  as  a  Gettysburg  veteran.  During  his  administration  the 
number  of  students  increased  and  the  courses  of  study  were 
re-arranged  and  placed  on  a  par  with  those  of  the  oldest  eastern 
colleges. 

June  27,  1868,  saw  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  and 
by-laws  of  the  society  of  the  Alumni  of  Notre  Dame,  first  suggested 
by  Francis  C.  Bigelow,  a  graduate  of  1862.  The  officers  elected 
were:  President,  Rev.  Neil  H.  Gillespie;  first  vice-president, 
Francis  C.  Bigelow,  of  Dayton,  Ohio;  second  vice-president, 
James  B.  Runnion,  of  Chicago;  treasurer,  Prof.  Joseph  A.  Lyons; 
secretary.  Prof.  Michael  T.  Corby;  orator,  Edmund  B.  Kilroy,  of 
Port  Sarnia,  Ontario;  alternate  orator,  James  O'Brien,  of  Galena, 
111.;  poet,  Prof.  Timothy  E.  Howard;  alternate  poet.  Prof.  Arthur 
J.  Stace. 

In  April,   1869,  the   local   alumni   committee  resolved   that  a 

(550r 


IN    THIi    STATE    OI"    INDIANA. 

memorial  of  the  silver  jubilee,  to  be  celebrated  the  l(jllowin<;  June, 
should  be  prepared,  and  to  Father  (iillespie  was  assigned  the  task 
of  writing  a  history  of  Notre  Dame  up  to  date;  Father  Brown,  to 
write  biographies;  Prof.  Stace,  sketches  of  the  societies;  and  to 
Prof.  Lyons  was  assigned  the  task  of  publishing.  Not  one  of  these 
literary  gentlemen  lived  to  see  the  golden  jubilee  of  1895.  During 
the  silver  jubilee  three  preliminary  celebrations  were  had,  vi/:  The 
first,  October  13,  1868,  was  that  of  the  patronal  feast  of  Father 
Sorin,  who  had  been  elevated  at  Rome,  in  1868,  to  the  office  of 
superior  general  of  the  congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross — the  first 
American  to  attain  such  dignity;  the  second,  April  27,  1869,  was 
a  musical,  allegorical  and  humorous  entertainment,  and  the  third, 
May  22,  1869,  was  .on  the  occasion  of  the  return  of  Father  Sorin 
from  France. 

Literature   and   oratory   had   been  cultivated   at    Notre    Dame 
from  the  beginning,  dramatic  and  debating  clubs  were  formed,  and 
the  St.  Aloysius  Philodemic,  the   St.  Edward  Literary   and  the  St. 
Cecilia   Philomathean     societies   were    the    chief   nurseries    of  the 
embryo  authors  and  orators.      The  first  publication  by  the  students 
was  the  Notre  Dame  Literary  Gazette,    the   manuscript  of  which 
was  destroyed  by  the  misunderstanding  of  a  prefect,  and  the  second 
undertaking  in  the    way  of  journalism   was   the    Progress,    also    a 
manuscript   paper,    and    originated  by    John    Collins,    Francis    C. 
Bigelow,  Benjamin    B.    Barron  and  John  H.   Fleming.      The  only 
printed   copy  of    this  journal    was   read   at    the   commencement  of 
i860,  but  when  Father  Gillespie,  the  censor,  was  sent  to  France, 
in     1863,    the    paper   gradually     languished,     and    its     place    was 
occasionally  supplied  with  such  manuscript  stieets   as   the  Olympic 
Gazette,  the  Weekly  Bee,  the  Two-penny  Gazette  and  others.      In 
May,   1865,  Father  Sorin  established  the  magazine,  Ave  Maria,  the 
first  two  numbers  of    which    were    printed    in  Chicago,  and  then  a 
new  printing-press  and  type    were   brought  to  Notre  Dame.      This 
magazine,  edited  by  Father  Sorin,    attained    a    circulation  of  over 
20,000  weekly  and  was  distributed  over  every  portion  of  the  world 
where  the  English  language  is  spoken.      On   the  return  of  Father 
Gillespie  from  France,  in  1866,  he  was   placed  in  editorial  charge 
and  held  the  position  until  his  lamented    death  in    1874,    when  he 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Daniel  E.  Hudson,  who  has  made  the  Ave 
Maria  the  most  literary  of  all  our  Catholic  publications.  September 
7.  I  867,  by  order  of  Father  Corby,  the  first  number  of  the  Scholastic 
Year  was  published,  the  idea  being  that  it  should  be  printed  between 
the  months  of  September  and  June  only — the  scholastic  year.  The 
plan  was,  that  a  select  corps  of  students,  under  the  supervision  of 
Father  Gillespie,  was  to  prepare  the  matter  for  the  publication, 
and  the  first  number  was  in  size  a  little  more  than  a  fly  leaf  to  the 
Ave  Maria,  to  which  magazine  it  was  attached.  In  March,  1868, 
the  editorial  supervision  was  passed  to  Father  Lemonnier,  and  in 
August  it  was  detached  from  the  Ave  Maria  and  published  as  an 
independent  journal.  In  1869  the  name  was  changed  to  that  of 
the  Notre  Dame  Scholastic,  was  modified,  in  September,  1872,  to 
the  Scholastic,  and  in  September,  1875,  restored  to  its  local  signifi- 
cant name  of  the  Notre  Dame  Scholastic — the  name  it  still  bears. 
So  excellent  were  some  of  the  contributions  to  the  Scholastic  that 
many  were  selected  to  appear  in  an  annual,  which  was  conducted 
from  1876  until  t888  by  Prof.  Lyons,  whose  death  occurred  in  the 
year  last  named. 

The  scientific  department  of  Notre  Dame  was  virtually  estab- 
lished during  the  presidency  of  Father  Dillon,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  incumbencies  of  Presidents  Corby  and  Lemonnier  that  it 
became  of  any  great  importance.  In  i  S60  the  library  contained 
barely  2,000  volumes,  chiefly  in  French  and  Latin,  and  the 
museum  contained  a  small  collection  of  stuffed  animals  and  birds 
and  a  few  eggs,  but  these  were  stored  in  an  ill-lighted  hall;  there 
was,  however,  in  this  museum,  a  herbarium  of  great  value,  in  a 
scientific  point  of  view,  which  had  been  presented  by  the  eminent 
French  botanist,  De  Cauvin,  in  1855.  In  the  spring  of  1866 
Father  Carrier  was  sent  to  France  on  university  business,  and  was 
cornmissionad  to  purchase,  am  )  igst  other  things,  instrumsnts  for 
the  cabinet  of  physics,  chemicals  for  the  laboratory  and  objects  of 
natural  history  for  the  museum.  The  result  was  that  twenty  large 
boxes  were  received  at  Notre  Dame  from  Paris,  but  the  contents 
were  not  all  purchases,  as  amongst  them  was  a  six-inch  telescope, 
presented  by  Napoleon  III,  200- volumes  presented  by  the  French 
government,  and  numerous  church  ornaments  and   sacred   vessels 

(552P 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

presented  by  the   emperor,  empress  and   prince   imperial.      P'ather 
Carrier,    on    his   return,    spent    months    in    arranging;    the    Hbrary, 
museum,   etc.  ;  an   observatory   was  built,    a   class   in   botany   was 
organized,  a  corps  of  five  professors  secured,  and  instruction  given 
in  the   natural  and  physical  sciences,  chemistry,  /coology,  botany, 
mineralogy,  geology,  physiology  and  comparative  anatomy.     Early 
in  the  'seventies  a  thorough  course  in  civil  engineering  was  estab- 
lished and  a  partial  course  in  medicine;  later,  during  the  'eighties. 
Father    Walsh,    assisted    by    Fathers    Zahm    and    Kirsch,    added 
courses  in  applied  electricity,  mechanical  engineering  and  biology. 
In   February,    1869,    Father    Corby    founded   a   law   department, 
which  was  formally  opened  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Colovin, 
who  was  assisted,  later,  by  Peter  Foote,  a  lawyer  of  Chicago,  111., 
Francis  C.  Bigelow,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  and   Hon.  Lucius  G.  Tong. 
In  1883  Prof.  William  Hoynes  was  placed  in  charge  and  the  course 
of  study  fixed  at  three  years.      Moot  cases  were  tried   each  week 
and  all  the  formalities  of  a  regular  court  followed  in  detail. 

In  1872  blather  Lemonnier,  a  man  of  most  superior  abilities 
and  excellent  literary  tastes,  was  selected  as  the  fourth  president 
of  Notre  Dame  university.  The  most  signal  feature  of  his  incum- 
bency was  the  perfecting  of  the  courses  already  established  and  the 
founding  of  a  school  of  painting  under  the  celebrated  Roman  artist, 
Gregori,  and  the  creation  of  a  circulating  library,  which  now  bears 
his  name.  He  had  plans  for  making  Notre  Dame  the  "Catholic 
university  of  America,  but  his  administration  lasted  two  years 
only,  as  his  lamented  death  took  place  October  29,   1874. 

Rev.  Patrick  J.  Colovin,  vice-president  of  the  university  under 
Father  Lemonnier,  during  the  latler's  last  sickness,  acted  as  presi- 
dent and  director  of  studies.  He  then  became  the  fifth  president 
and  held  the  position  until  1877.  He  was  a  ripe  scholar  and  a 
most  eloquent  speaker.  In  1877  Father  Colovin  and  Father 
Corby  changed  places,  the  former  taking  charge  of  Watertown, 
Wis.,  where  Father  Corby  had  officiated  for  five  years,  during 
which  time  he  founded  the  college  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  built 
a  large  brick  church,  and  thus  Father  Corby  again  became  presi- 
dent, with  Rev.  Thomas  E.  Walsh  as  vice-president  and  director 
of  studies.      One  of  the  first  cares  of  the  new  administration  was  to 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

improve  the  facilities  for  athletic  exercises,  which  had,  however, 
been  carefully  cultivated  from  a  very  early  day,  although  the  first 
boat-club  race  inaugurated  by  Father  Lemonnier  did  not  take 
place  until  1870.  Baseball  and  football  were  also  introduced,  and 
now  a  campus  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  acres  is  set  apart  for  these 
games. 

A  terrible  disaster  befell  the  college  on  the  morning  of  Wed- 
nesday, April  23,  1879,  when  about  eleven  o'clock  fire  was 
discovered  issuing  from  the  roof  of  the  administration  hall,  and  so 
rapid  was  its  progress  that  five  other  buildings  in  connection  with 
the  institution  were  destroyed,  each  with  its  priceless  treasures — 
the  unfinished  church  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  the  old  frame  printing- 
office,  Washington  hall,  and  the  domestic  departments  alone 
escaping.  The  fire  department  from  South  Bend,  as  weH  as  many 
citizens,  were  at  the  scene  as  quickly  as  possible,  but  could  only 
aid  in  removing  many  articles  of  furniture,  paintings,  valuable 
papers,  etc.,  from  the  rooms  of  the  professors,  but  the  buildings 
were  doomed.  The  cause  of  this  disaster  was  never  satisfactorily 
accounted  for. 

The  venerable  Father  Sorin,  now  in  his  sixty-sixth  year,  was 
at  or  near  Monteral,  Canada,  preparing  to  cross  the  Atlantic 
ocean  for  about  the  fifteenth  time.  Father  Corby,  fearing  that  » 
the  evil  news  would  prove  fatal  to  the  venerable  founder,  tele- 
graphed to  the  superiors  in  Canada  to  keep  it  from  him  until  the 
arrival  of  Professor  Edwards,  who  would  break  it  to  him  with 
gentleness  and  diplomacy.  With  all  the  care  taken  the  shock  was 
almost  more  than  Father  Sorin  could  bear.  He  instantly  returned 
to  his  beloved  institution.  On  the  way  home  his  mind  was 
diverted  from  the  calamity  to  future  improvements.  He  com- 
menced to  draw  plans,  and  when  he  saw  the  great  work  to  be  done 
he  seemed  to  recover  his  youth  again.  Uninterrupted  activity  that 
seized  upon  every  source  of  aid  actuated  him.  Before  the  com- 
ing September  President  Corby,  according  to  a  promise  made  by  him 
to  the  students,  had  erected  upon  the  ruins  a  building  far  superior 
to  the  old  one.  The  present  edifice  is  of  the  neogothic  style  of 
architecture,  four  stories  high,  in  shape  like  the  letter  T,  and  sur- 
mounted with  a  magnificent  dome.      The  interior    is  decorated  by 

(554r 


IN    THE    STATE    OI'^    INDIANA. 

Liiigi  Gregori,  an  Italian  artist,  with  frescoes  illustrating  the  lite 
of  Colunibus,  and  the  vestibule  with  full-length  figures  of  Columbus 
and  Queen  Isabella,  from  authentic  portraits,  as  well  as  other  his- 
toric characters  and  scenes.  The  inner  surface  of  the  dome  is  also 
decorated  allegorically  by  the  hand  of  Gregori.  The  paintings 
were  completed  and  the  dome  opened  .with  appropriate  ceremonies, 
May  29,  1890,  Bishop  Keane  delivering  a  masterly  oration.  The 
building  is  supplied  with  every  modern  convenience,  and  rooms 
and  halls  assigned  to  every  department  of  knowledge  known  to  the 
higher  class  of  universities,  with  every  appliance  and  apparatus 
necessary  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  each  and  every  study. 
To  return  to  the  chronological  continuity  ot  the  presidential 
succession  at  Notre  Dame,  it  is  necessary  to  explain  that  Rev. 
Thomas  E.  Walsh,  the  sixth  president,  assumed  the  functions  of 
this  high  office  in  i88(.  He  had  been  vice-president  and  director 
of  studies  during  the  last  term  of  President  Corby,  and  was  barely 
past  twenty-eight  years  of  age  when  he  became  president.  He 
was  a  ripe  scholar,  a  gentleman  of  superior  natural  endowments, 
and  possessed  of  broad  views  and  a  comprehensive  scope  of  mind. 
During  his  administration  two  small  wings  were  added  to  the  prin- 
cipal college-building,  and  in  1882  St.  Edward's  hall,  for  the  use 
of  the  minims,  was  erected.  June  30,  1883,  the  corner-stone  of 
Science  hall  was  laid  by  the  Right  Rev.  John  Watterson,  bishop  of 
Columbus.  This  corner-stone  is  a  mineral  curiosity,  being  a  con- 
glomerate, containing  lucid  and  colored  quartz  pebbles,  was  pro- 
cured in  northern  Michigan,  and  was  donated  by  Dr.  John  Cassidy, 
the  first  graduate  from  the  university  in  the  scientific  course. 
Under  President  Walsh,  also,  were  erected  in  the  front  of  Soren  hall 
a  dormitory  for  advanced  students,  the  Mechanics'  hall,  or  institute 
of  technology,  and  astronomical  observatory.  Mention  may  here 
be  made  of  the  dimensions  and  finish  of  the  principal  buildings 
completed  under  the  direction  of  Father  Corby  and  Father  Walsh. 
The  main  building  is  320x155  feet,  is  constructed  of  cream-col- 
ored brick,  and  the  dome  is  gilded  with  pure  gold-leaf,  surmounted 
with  a  massive  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  head  of  which  is 
crowned  with  electric-light  stars — 207  feet  above  the  face  of  the 
earth.      Music  hall,    or  academy   of   music,    with    its   Washington 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

hall,  is  I /OX  lOO  feet,  and  is  a  little  over  lOO  feet  in  height.  It  is 
octagonal  in  form,  the  acoustic  properties  are  unusually  good,  the 
gallery  seats  500,  and  the  parterre  700  persons,  and  the  stage  is 
ample  for  all  purposes,  the  whole  being  lighted  by  electricity. 
Sorin  hall  is  144  x  i  12  feet,  and  is  the  residence  of  the  advanced 
classes,  who  have  private  rooms  without  additional  cost,  and  also 
contains  the  law  lecture  room,  court  room,  law  library,  etc. 
Science  hall,  104x131  feet,  divided  into  two  compartments,  is 
replete  with  every  accessory,  and  Mechanics'  hall  equipped  in  full 
with  all  implements  and  tools  necessary  to  the  acquirement  of 
technology.  The  astronomical  observatory  comprises  a  revolving 
dome,  with  a  transit  instrument  and  computing  rooms  in  which  are 
smaller  instruments,  works  of  reference,  etc.,  and  in  the  second 
floor  a  complete  gymnasium.  The  infirmary  is  a  building  200x45 
feet,  and  is  properly  supplied  with  physicians,  nurses,  medicines, 
etc.,  and  the  whole  group  of  buildings  is  so  arranged  as  to  form  a 
harmonious  front. 

Since  1883  Prof.  J.  F.  Edwards,  the  director  of  the  Bishops' 
Memorial  hall,  has  been  exerting  his  best  energies  towards  found- 
ing the  Catholic  archives  of  America,  and  building  a  Catholic  ref- 
erence library,  with  what  success,  the  whole  country  knows. 
Thousands  of  volumes,  thousands  of  pamphlets  and  thousands  of 
precious  manuscripts  have  already  been  collected  and  placed  on 
the  shelves  and  in  the  vaults  of  one  of  the  finest  historical  collec- 
tions in  America.  Connected  with  the  Bishops'  Memorial  hall  is 
a  magnificent  museum,  containing  many  thousands  of  precious 
souvenirs  and  relics  of  historic  interest,  besides  a  gallery  of  histor- 
ical portraits  unequaled  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  All  these  articles 
have  already  found  a  fitting  home  in  the  magnificent  collection  of 
apartments  known  as  the  Bishops'  Memorial  hall.  Thousands  of 
dollars  hnve  been  spent  for  oil-paintings,  manuscripts,  books, 
frames  for  pictures,  etc..  etc.,  and  valuable  contributions  of  relics 
and  documents  have  been  received  from  nearly  all  the  dis- 
tinguished prelates,  priests  and  laymen  of  America. 

The  year  1888  was  made  memorable  by  the  celebration  of  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  ordination  of  Father  Sorin  to  the  priest- 
hood, but  the  ceremonies  were  too  elaborate  for  description  in  this 

{556r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

vcjluiiie.  In  May,  1S91,  he  made  his  last  trip  to  Kurope,  accom- 
panied by  Father  Zahm,  but  his  \'isit  was  of  short  duration.  In 
1892  he  took  a  trip  to  the  Atlantic  coast  for  the  benefit  of  his  fail- 
ing health.  February  6,  1893,  he  entered  upon  the  eightieth  year 
of  his  holy  life.  In  the  spring  of  the  same  year  President  Walsh 
visited  Texas,  partly  on  business  and  partly  for  the  improvement 
of  his  health,  which  a  trip  to  France  had  failed  to  restore,  but  on 
his  return  frotn  the  south  his  health  was  still  impaired.  At  the 
close  of  the  season  he  went  to  Wisconsin  to  seek  relief,  and  found 
it,  alas  !  at  the  hand  of  death,  July  17th,  and  in  October  following 
Father  Sorin  also  passed  away. 

In  accordance  with  the  expressed  wish  of  Father  Walsh,  Rev. 
Andrew  Morrissey  was  named  as  his  successor,  and,  with  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  venerable  founder,  became  the  seventh  president  of 
Notre  Dame,  and  no  choice  for  the  office  could  have  better  pleased 
the  inmates.  He  had  been  at  the  university  since  the  twelfth 
year  of  his  age  and  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  its 
founder.  The  following  list  completes  the  roster  of  presidents  of 
this  noble  institution  to  date:  Father  Edward  Sorin,  founder, 
from  1842  to  1865;  Father  Patrick  Dillon,  from  1865  to  1866; 
Father  William  Corby,  from  1866  to  1872;  Father  Augustus  Le- 
monnier,  from  1872  to  1874;  Father  Patrick  J.  Colovin,  from  1874 
to  1877;  Father  William  Corby,  again,  from  1877  to  1881;  Father 
Thomas  E.  Walsh,  from  1881  to  1893;  Father  Andrew  Morrissey, 
from   1893  to  the  present  time  (1898). 

During  the  same  time,  the  vice-presidents  and  directors  of 
study  have  been  as  follows:  Father  Alexis  Granger,  from  1844  to 
1 851;  Father  Francis  Cointet,  from  1851  to  1852;  Father  Richard 
Shortis,  from  1852  to  1856;  Father  Neil  H.  Gillespie,  from  1856 
to  1858;  Father  Patrick  Dillon,  from  1858  to  1859;  Father  James 
M.  Dillon,  from  1859  to  i860;  Father  Neil  H.  Gillespie,  again, 
from  i860  to  1863;  Father  Patrick  Dillon,  again,  from  1863  to 
1865;  Father  William  Corby,  from  1865  to  1866;  Father  Augustus 
Lemonnier,  from  1866  to  1872;  Father  Michael  B.  Brown,  from 
1872  to  1874;  Fathers  J.  M.  Toohey  and  P.  J.  Colovin.  from  1874 
to  1875;  Father  John  A.  O'Connell,  from  1875  to  1876;  Father 
John  A.  Zahm  (present  provincial,  of  whom  a    personal  sketch  is 

"(557) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

given  in  Vol.  II,  page  1426),  from  1876  to  1877;  Father  Thomas 
E.  Walsh,  from  1877  to  1881;  Father  J.  M.  Toohey,  from  1881  to 
1885;  Father  John  A.  Zahm,  again,  from  1885  to  1886;  Father 
Andrew  Morrissey,  from  1886  to  1887;  Father  John  A.  Zahm, 
again,  from  1887  to  1891;  Father  Andrew  Morrissey,  again,  from 
1 89 1  to  1893;  Father  James  French,  from  1893  up  to  the  present. 

Many  times  has  Xotre  Dame  been  called  upon  to  mourn  for 
the  loss  of  her  gifted  priests  and  brothers:  In  1854,  when  Father 
Cointet  and  nearly  twenty  other  members  of  the  order  died;  in 
1868,  when  Father  Patrick  and  Father  James  M.  Dillon  died;  in 
1874,  when  Father  Lemonnier  and  Father  Gillespie  died;  and 
finally,  in  1893,  when  Father  Walsh,  Father  Granger  and  the  ven- 
erable founder  himself,  Father  Sorin,  died.  Thanks,  however,  to 
the  gracious  protection  of  Heaven,  the  congregation  and  the  uni- 
versity, so  well  planned,  so  wisely  guarded  and  guided,  continued 
to  flourish  as  before.  The  works  of  man  perish;  those  of  God 
endure.  So  is  it  with  Notre  Dame,  under  the  guardian  care  of 
Father  Morrissey,  president  of  the  university;  and  so  will  it  ever  be 
so  long  as  the  spirit  of  the  holy  founder  continues  to  guide  the 
counsels  of  Notre  Dame. 

Under  Father  Morrissey's  administration  the  completion  of 
the  work  laid  out  by  his  predecessors  goes  on.  Washington  hall 
has  been  beautifully  frescoed,  wings  have  been  added  to  Sorin  hall 
and  a  magnificent  gymnasium,  240  feet  long  by  100  wide,  com- 
p'eted.  Measures  have  been  taken  to  revise  and  still  further 
improve  the  course  of  studies,  and  the  corps  of  teachers  is  kept  up 
to  the  highest  standard.  Father  Morrissey  is  now  making  plans 
for  building  a  large  fire-proof  library  building  and  another  hall  for 
students'  rooms.  The  friends  of  Notre  Dame,  everywhere,  are 
gratified  to  find  that  the  noble  work  here  inaugurated  shows  no 
sign  of  weakening;  but,  on  the  contrary,  in  everything  are  shown 
signs  of  advancement  towards  the  highest  goal  of  excellence.  The 
determination  was  never  stronger  to  keep  Our  Lady's  college  in  the 
place  to  which  she  has  attained  —  in  the  van  of  the  higher  educa- 
tional institutions  of  the  land. 

In  the  summer  of  1894  Notre  Dame  was  honored  by  the  pres- 
ence of   the  first  American    Eucharistic   congress  within  its   halls. 

(55») 


IN    THE    STAT1-:    Ol"    INDIANA. 

This  £ijreat  sacerdotal  confraternit}-,  numbering  so  many  devoted 
members  of  the  bishops  and  priests  of  Europe  and  America,  has 
undoubtedly  done  much  good  in  increasing  devotion  to  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  The  hrst  congress,  as  held  here,  was  most  successful 
and  satisfactory  to  the  numerous  clergy  present;  and  Notre  Dame 
was  greatly  honored  and  edified  by  its  presence.  To  be  selected 
as  the  place  where  so  great  a  work  as  that  of  the  Eucharistic  con- 
gress was  inaugurated  is,  indeed,  a  mark  of  God's  blessing.  Not 
since  the  assembling  of  the  Third  Plenary  council  at  Baltimore  has 
there  anywhere  assembled  so  numerous  and  distinguished  a  body 
of  Catholic  priests  and  prelates. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that,  notwithstanding  the  year  i<S93  was 
a  year  of  sorrow,  yet  Notre  Dame  could  not  fail  to  take  the  keenest 
interest  in  an  exhibition  so  dear  to  the  Catholic  heart  as  the  four 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  our  country  by  the  great 
Catholic  navigator.  The  fine  Columbian  paintings  on  the  walls  of 
the  main  entrance  to  the  university,  which  have  been  already 
described,  sufficiently  attest  this  interest. 

Notre  Dame's  exhibit  at  the  world's  fair,  under  the  direction  of 
Prof.  Edwards,  was  enclosed  in  four  departments,  centrally  located 
in  the  manufactures  and  liberal  arts  building.  The  first  booth  was 
twenty  feet  square  and  contained  Gregori's  life-size,  full-length 
portrait  of  the  founder  of  the  university,  together  wath  specimens 
of  the  work  of  the  pupils  of  Gregori  and  of  Prof.  Ackerman.  Here 
also  were  shown  a  map  of  the  grounds  and  buildings  of  the  univer- 
sity, made  by  the  pupils  of  Prof.  McCue's  surveying  classes;  sev- 
eral specimens  of  mechanical  engineering  work  in  wood  and  iron; 
blue  tints  from  the  institute  of  technology;  120  views  of  Notre 
Dame  taken  by  Father  Kirsch's  class  in  photography;  a  complete 
set,  twenty-five  volumes,  of  the  Notre  Dame  Scholastic,  illus- 
trating the  literary  work  of  the  students;  copies  of  various  books 
written  and  published  at  Notre  Dame;  objects  of  historical  interest; 
photographs  and  paintings. 

In  the  second  booth,  also  twenty  feet  square,  was  a  small  but 
rich  selection  from  the  precious  historical  treasury  of  Bishops' 
Memorial  hall.  Among  these  treasures  were  many  rare  old  Bibles 
published  in  the  German  language  long  before  the  birth  of  Luther. 

1659) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


In  the  third  booth  were  numerous  precious  manuscripts,  mementos 
of  distinguished  lay  men  and  women,  and  various  other  articles  of 
interest  shown  in  glass  cases,  including  precious  books  and  early 
Catholic  newspapers,  intended  to  represent  the  Catholic  Reference 
library  of  America  located  at  Notre  Dame. 

A  history  as  full  as  that  of  the  university  itself  might  be  writ- 
ten of  the  various  churches  erected  at  Notre  Dame,  culminating 
in  the  present  beautiful  edifice — the  church  of  the  Sacred  Heart. 
Father  Sorin  found  here  the  small  "  upper  room  "  of  the  little  log 
house  built  on  the  banks  of  St.  Mary's  lake  by  the  poor  Indians 
for  the  use  of  their  revered  Black  Robe,  the  proto-priest.  Father 
Stephen  T.  Badin,  in  1830.  In  1843,  Father  Sorin  erected  that 
other  log  structure,  a  little  higher  up  from  the  lake,  in  whose  upper 
chamber  the  inmates  and  the  Catholics  of  the  mission  long  contin- 
ued to  worship.  The  precious  relic,  alas,  perished  by  fire  in  1852. 
Before  this,  in  1848,  the  first  brick  church  was  erected,  east  of  the 
lake,  upon  ground  now  occupied  by  the  rear  of  the  present  church. 
This  church  of  1848  was  at  first  a  little  oblong  building;  in  time 
additions  were  made  to  it,  including  wooden  towers,  in  which  was 
placed  the  exquisite  chime  of  bells  that  still  make  music  for  Notre 
Dame.  When  the  first  great  organ  was  obtained,  an  extension 
was  made  to  the  rear  of  the  old  church  to  receive  it.  The  church 
so  completed  served  until  the  erection  of  the  present  edifice. 

The  foundations  of  the  new  church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  were 
begun  by  Father  Sorin  on  the  8th  day  of  December,  1868,  the  very 
day  on  which  the  Vatican  Council  was  opened  by  Pius  IX.      It  was 
also  the  twenty-fourth  anniversary  of  the  blessing  of   the   well   be- 
loved "chapel  of  the  Novitiate,"  erected   upon    the    "  Island  "   in 
1844,  and  so  long  the  center  of  the  religious  devotion  of   the  poor 
little  community.      It  was  on  the   same  day,    December  8,    1844, 
that  the  Arch   Confraternity  was  solemnly  established  in  the  same 
chapel,  the  most  blessed  society  ever  established  at  Notre   Dame. 
Slowly,  from  1869  until  Father  Sorin's   jubilee,    in    1888,  the 
church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  went  on  to  completion,  year  by  year, 
until  its  solemn  consecration,    when   it  appeared   to  the  world   as 
perhaps  the  most  beautiful  church  in  America.      That  there  should 
be  sacred  shrines  at  Notre  Dame  might  be  expected.      No  churches 

(560) 


ST.   MARY'S   CHAPPEL, 
NOTRE  DAME.   IND. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


nor  chapels  in  America,    and    few    in   any   part   o     the   world    are 
„,ore  blessed  with  special    blessings.      All   the  indulgences   o      he 
portinmcula    of   St.    Francis   are   attached   to   the  church   of    the 
Sacred  Heart;  and  there,    on  the    2d  of   Augu  t.  each  year,  p.ous 
people  co.ne  in  great  numbers.     To  the  same  church,  on  the   i  5th 
of  August,  comes  a  yearly  pilgrimage  from  St.    Augustine  s  parish 
in    Kalamazoo,    and    fro.n   other  towns   in   Michigan.      On    ro.ary 
Sunday   in   October   a    pious    throng    come    reverently    frorn    St^ 
Joseph's  parish  in    Mishawaka.    and    from   the   churches   of   South 
Bend  and  elsewhere.      The  blessings  of  Marquette,   of  Allouez.   of 
Badin     of  De-Seille.  of  Petit,  and,  may  we  not  now  say,  of  Sonn 
are  upon   the  land.      From    a  brief   history   of  the    university   of 
Notre  Dame  du  Lac,  prepared  for  the  golden  jubilee,  June.  1895, 
this  closing  paragraph  is  extracted: 

Wh.le  it  would  have  seemed  fitting   that  the  golden  jubilee  of  Notre  Dame 
should  hve  been  celebrated  in  1892,  fifty  years  from  the  date  of  her  foundmg  yet 
our  readers  will,  perhaps,  now  see  why  this  was  not  done.     Sorrow  was  brooding 
"rTlma  Mater  and  she  could  not  then,  nor  even  in  the  succeedmg  years  u  t 
now    lav  aside  the  habiliments  of   mourning.     But   she  has   remembered   that 
ahh;ugh  Father  Sorin,  as  well  as  Father  Granuer  and  Father  Walsh,  would  have 
been  deliK^d  to  be  with  us.  yet  that  they  would  be  grieved  if  we  were  to  rerx.am 
in  sorrow     The.r  wish  is  that  we  should  go  forward  and  rejo.ce  m  the  work  wh.ch 
hey  and 'their  co-laborers  have  ac:omplished.  and  which  they  charge  us  to  mam^ 
tahf  and  extend  as  they  would  have  done  if  they  had  remamed  w.th  us.     \\  e  go 
forward  in  joy?then.  and  in  thanksgiving  to  celebrate  the  golden  jubdee  of  Notre 
D  le  t  us  ing  tha    those  who  come  after  us,  m  1942,  w.ll  find  that  we  too,  have 
done  ^u   work  well;  that  we  have  not  buried  *he  five  talents  g.ven  us,  but  have  car- 
ried on  lith  still  mcreasing  success  the  work  of  Christian  ed.cat.on  begun  a  hun- 
dred years  before  by  Father  Sorin  and  his  brethren  of  the  Holy  Coss. 

St  Mary's  Academy.  Notre  Dame.  St.  Joseph  county.— The 
development  of  material  resources  which  meet  the  demands  of 
the  changing  epochs  is  matter  for  wonder,  as  well  as  for  gratitude, 
to  the  all-seeing,  all-loving  Providence  w^hich  ordereth  all  things 
sweetly.  But  in  no  phase  of  the  economy  of  the  universe  is  the 
hand  of  God  more  clearly  visible  than  in  the   rise  and  progress  of 

religious  communities.  ■   ,         1 

Each  period  of  the  church's  growth  developed  special  needs, 
and  those  needs  were  met  by  the  establishment  of  orders  devoted 
to  the  particular  line  of  work  called  for  by  the  exigencies   o^the 

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A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

times.  The  mere  suggestion  of  this  thought  brings  before  the 
mind  examples  in  proof  of  it:  Saint  Benedict  and  his  followers, 
Saint  Dominick  and  his  preachers,  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi  and  his 
brothers  of  poverty.  Saint  Ignatius  and  his  soldier  priests. 

And  as  in  the  church  every  agency  for  good  is  accounted 
worthy,  so  the  minor  congregations  and  communities — lesser 
branches  of  the  great  tree  of  religious  orders — are  alloted  a  fixed 
place  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  where  they  serve  to  further  the 
cause  of  Christ. 

Among  the  congregations  founded  in  this  century,  we  find 
some  devoted  to  the  work  of  education;  others  are  dedicated  to 
the  service  of  the  sick;  others  again  care  for  the  bereaved  little 
ones  of  the  fold — the  orphans.  These  three  noble  works  united 
form  the  objects  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  a  congregation 
priviliged  by  God  to  become  a  strong  factor  in  the  work  of  the 
Catholic  church  in  America. 

This  congregation,  founded  in  Le  Mans,  France,  in  1841,  by 
the  saintly  Abbe  Moreau,  was  established  in  this  country  at  Ber- 
trand,  Mich.,  in  July,  1844,  by  Very  Rev.  E.  Sorin,  one  of  Father 
Moreau's  earliest  associates;  and  in  September  of  the  same  year, 
the  habit  of  the  congregation  was  given  for  the  first  time  in 
America. 

■  That  to  the  high  vocation  of  the  religious  teacher  was  added 
the  apostolic  spirit,  is  evident  from  the  early  annals,  wherein  it  is 
recorded  that  the  Sisters — e\«en  though  the  number  to  be  spared 
from  the  Bertrand  school  was  small — were  sent  to  Pokagon,  Mich., 
where  300  Pottowatamie  Indians  were  instructed  in  the  saving 
truths  of  our  holy  religion. 

The  first  decade  of  growth  was  attended  with  the  vicissitudes 
wherewith  God  strengthens  his  elect,  but  by  1855  houses  in  New 
Orleans,  New  York,  Mishawaka  and  Lowell,  testified  to  the  zeal 
and  activity  of  the  mother-house,  which  bravely  surmounted  diffi- 
culties which  to  less  courageous  souls  would  have  seemed  insur- 
mountable. 

In  1855  the  community  moved  from  Bertrand  to  St.  Mary's, 
St.  Joseph  county,  Ind.,  the  present  site  of  the  mother-house  of 
the  Sisters  of  the  Holy   Cross.      In    1857,  the   union    of   temporal 

per 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

interests  between  Notre  Dame  and  Saint  Mary's  was  severed,  and 
a  separate  administration  has  been  maintained  ever  since,  thouj^h 
by  special  privilege  of  His  Holiness,  Pius  IX  (a  grant  lately  con- 
firmed by  Leo  XIII),  Very  Rev.  E.  Sorin  was  allowed  to  act  as 
ecclesiastical  superior  over  both  congregations — that  composed  of 
the  priests  and  brothers,  and  that  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross. 

About  this  time  Mother  M.  Angela,  a  woman  imbued  with  the 
highest  religious  aspirations,  and  endow^ed  with  rare  mental  gifts, 
was  elected  provincial,  and  until  her  death,  in  1887,  it  was  her  lot 
never  to  be  without  the  burden  of  office. 

From  1855  to  1865  were  years  of  trial  and  of  growth.  Found- 
ations were  made  in  Chicago,  Laporte,  Michigan  City,  Philadel- 
phia, Washington,  D.  C. ,  Morris,  Baltimore,  South  Bend,  Craw- 
fordsville,  Joliet  and  other  places.  The  four  eventful  years  of 
this  decade  were,  of  course,  the  years  of  war,  and  Mother  Angela, 
with  a  corps  of  devoted  Sisters,  some  of  whom  are  still  living,  spent 
their  best  energies  in  caring  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  un- 
til peace  was  proclaimed.  The  services  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross  were  given  at  Cairo,  Mound  City,  Memphis,  Louisville, 
Paducah,  Jefferson  and  Washington;  and  everywhere  was  grateful 
recognition  accorded  their  devoted  efforts. 

The  three  decades  following  developed  the  congregation  along 
broad  lines  leading  ever  to  nobler  heights  of  achievement,  and  the 
epoch  of  greatest  advancement  dawned  when  Pope  Pius  sanctioned 
the  separation  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy 
Cross  from  France,  thus  changing  St.  Mary's  from  a  provincial- 
house  to   the   mother-house  of   the   Sisters   of  the   Holy   Cross  in 

America. 

The  death  of  Mother  Angela,  in  1887,  the  failing  health  of 
Father  Sorin,  and  his  death  in  1893,  were  the  dark  shadows  over 
the  path  of  peace  along  which  God  was  pleased  to  lead  the  congre- 
gation; and  yet  the  shadows  but  made  those  who  mourned  their 
loss  look  at  the  light  shining  beyond — a  light  which  whispers  of 
hope  to  the  spiritual  children  of  a  devoted  father  and  founder  and 
his  zealous,  self-sacrificing  co-laborer. 

St.  Mary's   Academy   is  situated  about  eighty   miles  east  of 

34  (•'^'^T) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Chicago,  111.,  and  two  miles  from  South  Bend,  Ind.,  and  can  be 
easily  reached  by  railroad  from  any  part  of  the  United  States  or 
Canada.  The  views  herewith  presented  of  the  academy  and  its 
chapel  (Our  Lady  of  Loreto)  will  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  their 
rare  architectural  beauty.  The  academy  buildings  are  healthfully 
located  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  St.  Joseph  river,  along 
whose  picturesque  banks  magnificent  forest  trees  still  stand  in  their 
native  grandeur. 

The  academy  buildings,  of  cream-colored  brick  with  stone 
trimmings,  are  spacious,  comfortable  and  commodious — admirably 
adapted  in  every  respect  to  the  object  in  view  at  their  erection. 
The  institution  is  heated  by  steam,  no  fire  being  used  in  any  part 
of  the  academy.  Bath  rooms,  supplied  with  hot  and  cold  water, 
communicate  with  the  sleeping  apartments.  The  sLudy-halls,  dor- 
mitories and  class-rooms  are  well  lighted  and  thoroughly  ventilated. 
In  addition  to  the  system  of  water  works  in  the  interior — water 
from  artesian  wells  being  driven  to  all  parts  of  the  building  through 
iron  pipes,  with  hose  attachment  on  each  lioor  —  iron  balconies 
and  outside  fire  escapes  have  been  erected  on  all  the  academy 
buildings. 

The  chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Loreto,  designed  by  the  late  Very 
Rev.  Edward  Sorin,  C.  S.  C,  is  a  matchless  piece  of  architecture, 
Romanesque  in  style  and  unique  in  plan.  The  stained  glass  win- 
dows, which  are  marvels  of  artistic  beauty,  are  from  Le  Mans, 
France.  The  dome  of  the  chapel  is  fitly  crowned  with  the  sym- 
bol of  our  Redemption,  the  distinctive  mark  of  the  order  of  the 
Holy  Cross. 

Among  the  many  attractions  at  St.  Mary's,  not  the  least,  in 
point  of  usefulness  and  architectural  beauty,  is  St.  Angela's  hall, 
which  is  designed  especially  for  lectures,  concerts  and  musicales 
throughout  the  year,  and  for  commencement  exercises  Its  seat- 
ing capacity  is  800. 

In  Science  hall,  the  degree  of  e.xcellence  attained  at  St.  Mary's 
in  the  musical  and  art  departments  has  long  been  recognized  by 
the  friends  of  the  institution,  and  many  visitors  to  the  music 
halls  and  studios  have  given  expression  to  surprise  at  the  pro- 
ficiency shown  by  the  pupils.      But  while  special  attention  is  paid 

(568F 


IN    THIi    STATE    01"    INDIANA. 

to  the  fine  arts,  they  are  not  cultivated  to  the  neglect  ol  the  prac- 
tical sciences,  as  a  visit  to  the  classes  of  natural  philosophy  and 
chemistry  would  fully  demonstrate.  No  pains  have  been  spared  to 
secure  a  physical  cabinet  worthy  the  name,  and,  as  a  result,  the 
academy  has  a  collection  of  instruments,  from  the  best  known 
manufacturing  establishments  of  Europe,  for  illustrating  the  laws 
of  sound,  light,  electricit}',  heat  and  magnetism,  as  well  as  the 
principles  of  mechanics. 

The  course  of  studies  is  as  extensive  and  thorough  as  long 
experience  in  teaching  and  a  large  and  capable  staff  of  teachers  can 
make  it.  The  best  systems  of  instruction  are  adopted  in  the 
various  departments,  and  the  best  authors  selected  for  each  branch. 
If  the  student  begins  in  the  junior  class,  four  years  will  be  required 
to  complete  a  full  academic  course;  if  in  the  preparatorv,  seven 
years  will  be  required  for  a  full  course. 

And  to-day,  after  a  life  of  fifty-four  years  in  the  new  world, 
the  congregation  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  fully  approved 
by  the  church,  numbers  over  800  members,  having  under  their  care 
schools,  hospitals  and  orphans'  asylums  in  twelve  different  states; 
over  6,000  day  pupils  are  taught  annually  in  their  parochial  schools, 
and  more  than  600  in  the  boarding  schools,  while  over  2,000  patients 
in  the  various  hospitals  are  ministered  to  yearly  by  the  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Cross. 

Those  who  have  studied  the  congregation  in  its  workings  give 
zeal  and  devotedness  as  its  characteristics.  Added  to  this  is  a 
spirit  of  rational  progress,  which  uses  every  means  to  make  the 
congregation  better  fitted  to  meet  its  threefold  end — the  care  of 
the  orphan,  the  amelioration  of  the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and  the 
education  of  children,  as  well  as  that  higher,  fuller  training  of 
young  women,  which  yields  to  college  degrees  and  through  all  ave- 
nues of  advancement  to  wide  fields  of  usefulness. 

Judging  from  its  past  and  its  present,  the  congregation  of  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  has  every  reason  to  look  to  a  future 
blessed  by  God  with  increased  powers  of  furthering  His  interests, 
thereby  drawing  down  new  blessings  and  becoming,  day  by  day,  a 
stronger  influence  in  Catholic  educational  and  charitable  work. 


(569) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


RENSSELAER,    JASPER  COUNTY. 


St.  Joseph  College,  conducted  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Precious 
Blood,  was  opened  in  September,   1891,  and  is  located   one   mile 
south  of  Rensselaer,  on  the  site  formerly  occupied  by  the  orphan 
asylum.      The  children  cared  for  here  were  transferred  to  LaFay- 
ette  and  Fort  Wayne  institutions,  the  property  was  neglected,  and 
the   building  destroyed    by  fire.      Thus,  in   1890,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Dwenger  transferred    the  land  (300  acresj    to   the    Fathers  of  the 
Precious   Blood,    who   at   once   began   the  work  for   founding  St. 
Joseph  college.      Father  Anthony  Dick  had  charge  of  the  parish  at 
Rensselaer,    and    superintended    the  construction  of    the    college- 
building  until  January,   1891,  when  Rev.  Augustine  Seifert,  C.  PP. 
S.,  took  charge  and  completed  the  structure.      The  school  opened 
in    September,  with   Rev.  Augustine   Seifert,  C.  PP.  S.,  as  rector. 
Only  lifty-four  students  were  enrolled  during  the  first  year,  and  the 
faculty  consisted  of  five  Fathers  and  one  lay  teacher.      The  institu- 
tion had   a  healthy  growth,  and  during  the  year  1892-93,  eighty- 
six  students  were  enrolled  and  the  faculty  increased  to  nine.      An 
addition  was  now  built   doubling   the  size   of   the   college  building 
making  it  228  feet  frontage  and    accommodation  for  200  students, 
but  the  attendance  in  1893   94  was    i  15  students. 

In  the  basement  of  the  building  there  is  a  large  recreation 
hall,  bath-rooms  and  dining  room.  On  the  first  floor  are  the  study- 
hall,  library,  parlor,  private  room,  Collegeville  post-of!ice  (estab- 
lished iMay  9,  1893)  and  class  rooms.  The  second  floor  is  occupied 
by  the  chapel  and  priests'  rooms,  and  the  third  floor  is  devoted  to 
the  entertainment  hall,  one  dormitory,  etc.  The  building  has 
steam  heat,  gas  light  and  other  modern  improvements,  which  make 
it  safe  and  convenient.  The  campus  is  well  improved,  has  an  arti- 
ficial lake  and  good  facilities  for  athletic  sports  and  exercise.  In 
1897  an  additional  building  was  erected  as  a  minim  and  music 
department.  The  attendance  is  largely  from  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Missouri  and  Michigan,  but  some  other  states  are  also  repre- 
sented. The  classic  course  is  six  years;  commercial  course  three 
years,  and  the  normal  course  three  years;  the  latter,  however,  is 
to  be  extended.      The  students  are  all  cared  for  at  the  college  and 

('570)  ' 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

are  thus  conlinuall}'  under  the  watchful  care  of  the  Fathers;  the 
large  farm  is  carried  on  by  Brothers  and  lay  members,  and  Catho- 
lic boys  are  only  admitted.  The  institution  is  now  practically  self- 
sustaining,  the  attendance  in  1897-98  being  140  students. 

ST.  meinrad's,  spencer  county. 

St.  Meinrad  College  and  Seminary. — The  famous  Benedictine 
order — an  order  that  for  fourteen  centuries  has  labored  most 
devotedly  and  successfully  in  christianizing,  educating  and  ele- 
vating mankind — established  as  early  as  1853  a  branch  house  at  a 
place  they  have  named  St.  Meinrad,  in  Harrison  township,  Spen- 
cer county,  Ind. 

It  was  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  late  Bishop  de  St.  Palais, 
expressed  through  his  vicar-general,  the  late  Very  Rev.  Joseph 
Kundeck,  pastor  at  Jasper,  Ind.,  that  this  great  boon  was  granted 
by  the  Benedictine  authorities  to  the  Catholic  people  of  Indiana. 

The  pioneers  of  the  Benedictine  order  in  Indiana  were  Rev. 
P.  Bede  O'Connor  and  Rev.  P.  Ulrich  Christen,  who  were  sent 
from  the  celebrated  abbey  at  Einsiedeln,  Switzerland,  by  vote  of 
the  chapter,  and  who  were  blessed  by  the  then  reigning  Pontiff, 
Pius  IX.  The  nauies  of  these  good  priests  will  always  be  lovingly 
linked  with  St.  Meinrad  abbey  and  also  with  the  old  diocese  of 
Vincennes,  now  the  diocese  of  Indianapo  is. 

St.  Meinrad  began  as  a  simple  convent  in  1853,  but  Pius  IX, 
in  1869,  conferred  upon  it  the  rank  and  distinction  of  an  independ- 
ent abbey.  Right  Rev.  Martin  Marty,  in  1871,  was  consecrated 
the  first  abbot,  but  later  on  he  became  bishop  of  St.  Cloud, 
Minn.  The  second  was  Right  Rev.  Fintan  Mundwiler,  who  was 
consecrated  in  1880.  The  third  and  present  abbot  is  Right  Rev. 
Athanasius  Schmitt,  a  sketch  and  excellent  portrait  of  whom  will 
be  found  on  pages  906  and  907,  Vol.  II. 

From  a  small  beginning  in  1853 — a  log  cabin  situated  on  a 
tract  of  land  of  160  acres  that  cost  just  $2,650 — St.  Meinrad  abbey 
grew  in  dimensions  and  in  favor  among  the  people  until,  in  1857, 
it  was  sufficiently  prepared  to  throw  open  its  doors  for  the  recep- 
tion of  students.  Its  lands  have  increased  from  160  acres  to  more 
than  ten  times  that   number,  and   its   splendid  buildings,  although 

(571) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

almost  completely  destroyed  by  the  disasterous  fire  of  1887,  have 
been  renewed  in  their  imposing  and  majestic  proportions.  Excel- 
lent views  of  both  St.  Meinrad  abbey  and  Jasper  college  are  given 
in  this  work.  These  structures  need  no  further  description  here 
other  than  to  say  that  they  are  modern  in  their  appointments  and 
aptly  designed  for  the  purposes  to  which  they  are  devoted. 

As  institutions  of  learning,  both  sacred  and  secular,  they  com- 
prise three  departments:  Theological,  classical,  commercial  and 
scientific.  The  first  two  are  for  ecclesiastical  students  only,  and 
are  maintained  at  St.  Meinrad;  the  last-named  department  receives 
special  attention  at  Jasper  college.  These  departments  are  ably 
and  successfully  conducted,  and  the  proofs  citable  are  the  great 
number  of  learned  and  exemplary  priests  in  this  and  other  dioceses 
and  the  numerous  company  of  la}'  scholars  who  point  with  pride 
to  these  institutions  as  their  alma  mater. 

The  site  of  St.  Meinrad  college  and  seminary  is  the  delightful 
rolling — in  fact,  hilly — country  of  southern  Indiana.  It  is  fifteen 
miles  north  of  the  Ohio  river  and  is  thirteen  miles  from  the  rail- 
road station  at  Ferdinand,  on  the  Louisville,  Evansville  &  St. 
Louis  railroad.  A  beautiful  eminence  is  the  chosen  nestling-spot 
for  the  abbey  buildings,  and  from  this  high  perch  can  be  viewed 
the  broad  stretches  of  valley,  the  sweep  of  the  neighboring  hills, 
and  the  picturesqueness  of  wood  and  dell  and  stream.  The  health- 
fulness  of  the  climate,  coupled  with  the  substantial  fare  provided 
and  the  regularity  of  habits  there  inculcated,  has  the  effect  of 
benefiting  not  only  the  physical  but  also  the  mental  and  the  moral 
health  of  the  students. 

A  consideration  of  great  consequence  might  be  mentioned  in 
this  connection — the  fact  that  the  charge  each  session  for  students, 
including  tuition,  board,  bedding,  mending  of  linens,  etc.,  is  but 
the  small  sum  of  $75.  This  alone  ought  to  induce  students  to 
patronize  St.  Meinrad's. 

Rt.  Rev.  Athanasius  Schmitt,  O.  S.  B.,  abbot,  is  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees  and  also  of  the  officers'  board  of  the  abbey. 
He  is  rector  of  the  seminary  and  professor  of  moral  theology  and 
liturgy.  Rev.  Gregory  Bechtold,  O.  S.  B.,  is  assistant  rector  of 
the  seminary,  and  professor  of  dogmatic   theology,   philology   and 

(572r 


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IN    TIIK    STATIC    OF    INDIANA. 


canon  law.  Rev.  Bede  Malcr,  O.  S.  li.,  is  professor  of  exegesis 
and  church  history.  Rev.  Dominick  Barthel,  O.  S.  B.,  is  rector 
of  the  college  and  professor  of  English  literature,  oratory,  elocu- 
tion and  honiiletics.  Rev.  Laurence  Faller,  O.  S.  B.,  is  professor 
of  philosophy.  Rev.  Andrew  Bauer,  O.  S.  B.,  is  professor  of 
Latin,  Greek,  German,  literature,  Christian  doctrine  and  liturgy. 
Very  Rev.  Alphonse  Leute,  O.  S.  B. .  is  professor  of  Hebrew, 
homiletics  and  pastoral  and  moral  theology.  Rev.  Kaspar  Seller 
is  professor  of  moral  theology  and  philology. 

Among  the  professors  who  are  members   of  the   faculty    and 
hold  chairs  in  the  classical  department  might  be   mentioned  Rev. 
Othmar   Schneeberger,    O.    S.    B. ;  Rev.    Odildo  Witt,    O.  S.  B. 
Rev.  Marcus  Meyer,  O.  S.  B. ;   Rev.  Vincent  Wagner,    O.    S.    B. 
Rev.  Eugene    Spiess,  O.  S.  B. ;  Rev.    Francis    Schoeppner.  O.  S 
B. ;  Rev.  Mauer   Helfrich,  O.  S.  B. ;    Ven.  J.  Chrysostom  Coons, 
O.  S.  B. ;  and  Ven.  Philip  Bauer,  O.  S.  B. 

While  a  large  share   of   material   prosperity   would  appear  to 
attend  upon  every  effort  of  the    monks   of  St.  Meinrad — so   much 
so  as  to  enable  them  to  acquire  additional   lands,  to  push   toward 
completion  thsir  abbay  bjildings  according  to   the  original   plans, 
and  to  even  undertake  the  erection  of  a  grand  new  church,  which 
is  to  be  200x75  feet,  ground  plan,  and  for  which   excavations  are 
now  being  made— it  is  yet  evident,  from  the  above  passing  glance 
at  facts,  that  the  intellectual  and  the  moral  are  not  only  not  neg- 
lected but  are  made  the  special  study  and  aim  of  the  entire   com- 
munity.     If,  in  a  tangible  way,  prosperity's  sun  shines  on  the  Sons 
of  St.  Benedict  at  St.  Meinrad's  abbey,  its  rays  are  dimmed  by  the 
bright  light  of  that  spiritual  sun  whose  effulgence  and  warmth  con- 
tinually energize  these   good    men  in  the  fulfillment    of  their  mis- 
sion in  the  spread  of  education,  religion  and  truth,  ut  in   omnibus 
glorificetur  Deus — "  that  in  all  things  God  may  be  glorified." 

JASPER,     DUBOIS    COUNTY. 

Jasper  College,  at  Jasper,  Dubois  county,  was  founded  in  1889, 
was  opened  for  the  reception  of  students  September  12,  that  year, 
and  was  incorporated  in  January,  1890,  under  the  laws  of  the 
state,  in  conjunction  with  St.  Meinrad's  college,  and  empowered  to 

(575) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

confer  the  usual  academic  degrees.  The  institution  is  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Benedictine  Fathers  of  St.  Meinrad's  abbey,  but 
is  open  to  all,  irrespective  of  religious  persuasion.  The  course  of 
study  comprises  from  three  to  five  years,  during  which  solid  in- 
struction is  given  in  commercial  and  scientific  knowledge  and 
thorough  preparation  for  entrance  to  more  advanced  institutions  of 
learning. 

The  college  buildings  are  situated  on  the  outskirts  of  Jasper, 
on  a  broad  and  prominent  eminence,  from  which  they  command  a 
fine  view  of  the  surrounding  country  for  miles  around,  and  this  is 
one  of  the  most  healthy  and  beautiful  sites  in  southern  Indiana. 
The  buildings  are  substantially  built  of  brick  and  sandstone,  with 
Bedford  and  Lake  Superior  sandstone  trimmings.  The  kitchen, 
refectory  and  boiler-room  are  located  in  separate  buildings  espe- 
cially constructed  for  that  purpose,  at  a  distance  of  several  yards 
from  the  main  structure.  This  separation  was  made  in  order  to 
avoid  divers  difficulties  and  hindrances,  which,  experience  teaches, 
cannot  be  obviated  without  such  precaution.  All  the  halls,  rooms 
and  corriders  in  each  building  are  well  lighted  and  ventilated, 
heated  by  an  excellent  system  of  steam-heating,  and  furnished  with 
water-pipes  and  appurtenances.  The  lavatory  and  bath-rooms, 
supplied  with  hot  and  cold  water,  have  been  fitted  out  with  modern 
improvements.  For  cleanliness  and  convenience  they  are  most 
perfect.  The  absence  of  stoves,  the  convenience  of  fire  plugs  and 
hose,  the  caution  taken  to  have  every  wall  and  partition  built  of 
brick,  all  tend  to  make  the  structure  safe  against  confiagrations. 
Every  appliance  has  been  carefully  and  tastefully  selected  with  a 
view  of  giving  the  newly-built  college  the  advantages  of  a  beauti- 
ful, commodious  and  healthfully-arranged  edifice. 

The  college  possesses  extensive  and  suitable  play  grounds  for 
games  of  baseball,  and  many  outdoor  and  indoor  appliances  so 
useful  for  the  physical  culture  as  well  as  the  mental  and  moral 
advancement  of  the  student. 

The  proximity  of  a  river  that  affords  splendid  opportunities  for 
river  sports,  such  as  boating,  fishing  and  swimming  in  summer,  and 
skating  in  winter,  adds  considerably  to  the  desirableness  of  the  site 
chosen  for  Jasper  college. 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Tlie  faculty  and  officers  of  the  institution  are  at  present  the 
following:  Right  Rev.  Athanasius  Schniitt,  O.  S.  B.,  president; 
Rev.  Bernard  Heichelbech,  O.  S.  B.,  rector,  treasurer  and  pro- 
fessor; Rev.  Martin  Hoppenjans,  O.  S.  B.,  secretary  and  professor; 
Rev.  Robert  (ilassmeyer,  O.  S.  B.,  professor;  Rev.  /Emilian 
Kurre,  O.  S.  II,  professor;  Rev.  Simon  Barber,  O.  S.  B.,  pro- 
fessor; Conrad  Kremp,  professor,  and  E.  J.  Kernpf,  M.  D.,  physi- 
cian. 

VIGO    COUNTY. 

St.  Mary's  Academic  Institute,  in  Vigo  county,  now  one  of  the 
foremost  educational  auxiliaries  of  the  Catholic  church  in  the  state, 
was  founded  by  the  Sisters  of  Providence  of  Ruille-sur-Loir,  France, 
of  which  order  six  heroic  sisters,  under  the  leadership  of  Mile.  Guerin, 
arrived  on  the  site  of  the  present  edifice  October  22,  1840,  and 
here  they  found  a  small  log  cabin,  already  erected,  inclosing  one 
room,  14x12  feet,  which  served  the  purposes  of  chapel,  dormi- 
tory, priest's  room,  and  all  other  requirements  of  shelter  and  util- 
ity for  the  postulants,  and  this  humble  chapel  was  the  germ  of  the 
magnificent  structure  now  known  as  St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods. 

Mother  Theodore,  as  Mile.  Guerin  was  known  to  the  church 
and  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  was  born  in  Brittainy,  France,  in 
1798,  early  became  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
in  1823  was  admitted  to  the  convent  of  Ruille-sur-Loir.  She  was 
a  woman  of  no  ordinary  powers  and  soon  rose  to  prominence  in 
the  sisterhood.  On  reaching  Vigo  county,  Ind.,  she  and  her  com- 
panions found  shelter  in  the  home  of  the  good  farmer  Thrall, 
which  home  the  good  mother  subsequently  purchased,  and  Novem- 
ber 27,  1840,  converted  into  a  convent,  having  used,  in  the  mean- 
time, the  little  log  cabin  as  a  chapel  and  the  farmer's  house  as  a 
dormitory. 

The  funds  for  the  purchase  of  this  farmhouse  and  for  mak- 
ing the  necessary  improvements  were  furnished  by  Frances  F. 
Ragor.  Not  far  from  this  odd  convent  Bishop  Brute  had  com- 
menced the  erection  of  another  building,  which  was  destined  to 
become  the  first  academy  proper  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods.  It 
was  of  brick,  46x25  feet,  two  stories  high,  and  the  corner-stone 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

was  blessed  August  17,  1840,  and  the  academy  opened  for  the 
reception  of  pupils  in  the  spring"  of  1841.  The  7th  day  of  Novem- 
ber, in  the  same  year,  brought  to  the  academy,  from  France,  as 
an  assistant  to  Mother  Theodore,  the  accomplished  artist.  Sister 
Frances  Xavier,  in'c  Mile.  Irma  le  Fer  de  la  Motte,  and  in  her  was 
found  a  valuable  auxiliary  in  the  initiation  of  the  higher  class  of 
secular  education. 

The  academy  continued  to  prosper  and  the  pupils  so  increased 
in  number  that  Mother  Theodore  found  it  necessary  to  take  steps 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  school  accommodations,  and  decided  to 
go  to  France  in  search  of  aid.  Therefore,  accompanied  by  Sister 
M.  Cecilia,  a  young  American  novice,  she  started  May  i,  1843, 
for  her  native  land  as  a  postulant,  secured  the  required  assistance, 
and  on  her  return  erected  St.  Ann's  chapel,  but  it  was  not  until 
1845  that  the  work  of  enlarging  the  academy  proper  was  begun. 
Two  wings,  each  two  stories  high,  were  added  to  the  academy 
building  and  branch  schools  established  in  various  parts  of  the 
state,  and  the  same  year  the  institute  was  legally  incorporated. 
In  1852  work  was  begun  on  a  new  edifice.  August  6,  1854,  the 
Sisters  moved  into  their  new  Providence,  and  here,  on  March  17, 
1856,  the  sainted  Theodore  was  called  to  her  eternal  rest. 

In  the  summer  of  1856  Sister  Mary  Cecilia,  first  assistant  of 
the  academy,  was  elected  to  succeed  Mother  Theodore.  The  fame 
of  the  institution,  under  her  wise  administration,  continued  to 
spread,  and  although  apartment  after  apartment  in  the  new  Prov- 
idence was  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  augmenting  pupils,  the 
accommodations  became  so  overcrowded  that  the  want  of  a  new 
academy  made  itself  too  obvious.  Accordingly,  on  August  15, 
i860,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice  was  laid  by  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  de  St.  Palais,  assisted  by  Rev.  Bede  O'Connor,  the 
Very  Rev.  John  B.  Corbe,  Rev.  Father  Vanhulst  and  Revs.  Beck- 
wick,  Hortsmann  and  Chasse.  Work  was  proceeded  with  through- 
out the  wild  period  of  the  Civil  war,  and  at  its  close  the  present 
group  of  noble  buildings  marked  the  present  site  of  St.  Mary's  of 
the  Woods,  with  its  academic  institute.  The  community  of  the 
Sisters  of  Providence  numbers  637,  the  Sisters  number  133,  the 
novices    sixty-one    and    the   postulants    thirteen,    and    the    pupils 

(678r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


attendant  at  the  academy  number  170.  This  institution  is  to-day 
numbered  among  the  best  schools  in  the  United  States,  and  is  a 
monument  indestructible  to  the  patience  and  perseverance  of  the 
humble  Sisters  who  brought  it  into  existence. 


Herewith  is  appended  a  tabulated  statement,  derived  from  au- 
thentic sources,  such  as  the  diocesan  report  of  parochial  schools  of 
the  school  board  of  Fort  Wayne  for  i<S93-98,  reports  from  various 
pastors  and  officials  in  the  diocese  of  Indianapolis,  and  gleanings 
from  papers  furnished  by  private  individuals,  the  whole  being  com- 
piled in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  at  a  glance  the  number  of  pupils 
attending  each  parochial  school  in  the  state,  as  far  as  it  has  been 
possible,  at  the  close  of  1898,  to  get  at  the  statistics.  Although 
incomplete,  it  will  yet  convey  a  general  idea  of  the  progress  made 
in  the  education  of  Catholic  children  without  cost  to  the  state. 


DIOCESE    OF    VINX'ENNES. 


Schools.  No.  of  Pupils. 

\'incennes  —  St.    Francis    Xavier 

for  boys 120 

for  girls 91 

St.  John  the  Baptist 236 

Aurora — Immaculate  Conception.  267 

Batesville— St.  Louis 240 

Bluffton — St.  Joseph's 33 

Bradford— St.  Michael's 80 

Brazil — Annunciation    of    the    B. 

V.  M 240 

Brookville— St.  Michael's 200 

Cannelton — St.     Michael's    (Ger- 
man)    139 

Cedar  Grove — Holy  Guardian  An- 
gels      107 

Celestine — St.  Celestine's 147 

Columbus — St.  Bartholomew's...   107 

Connersville — St.  Gabriel's... 187 

Dover— St.  John  the  Baptist 116 

Enochsburg— St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist's      65 

Evansville — Assumption 240 

Holy  Trinity 506 

St.  Mary's  (German) 400 


Schools.  No.  of  Pupils. 

St.  Boniface's 267 

St.  Anthony's 433 

Eerdinand — St.  Ferdinand's  266 

Floyd   Knobs — St.  Mary's  of  the 

Assumption 130 

Frenchtown— St.  l^ernard's 55 

Fulda — St.  Boniface's 133 

Greencastle — St.  Paul's 107 

Greensburg — St.  Mary's 80 

Hamburg — St.  Ann's 110 

Haubstadt— SS.  Peter  and  Paul's.  130 
Huntingburg-Visitation  of  the  B. 

V.  M 133 

Indianapolis  —  SS.     Peter      and 

Paul's 100 

Assumption 253 

St.  Bridget's 266 

St.  Ann's  (colored) 60 

Holy  Cross 266 

St.  John's 673 

St.  Joseph's 306 

St.  Mary's  (German) 350 

St.  Patrick's 387 

Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus 666 

"(579) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


Schools.  No.  of  Pupils. 

St.  Anthony's 150 

Ireland  -  St.  Mary's 30 

Jasper — St.  Joseph's 350 

jeffersonville— St.  Augustine's...   275 

Lanesville— St.  .Mary's 110 

Lawrenceburg — St.  Lawrence's...  240 

Loogootee  -St.  John's 180 

Madison     St.  Michael's 180 

St.  Mary's  (German) 180 

Mariah  Hill— Help  of  Christians,  160 
Millhousen — Immaculate  Concep- 
tion   200 

Montgomery— St.  Peter's 152 

Morris— St.  Anthony's 180 

Mount  \'ernon— St.  Matthew's. . .   133 

Napoleon — St.  Maurice's 47 

New  Albany— Holy  Trinity 400 

Annunciation.. 429 

New  Alsace— St.  Paul's 146 

North  Madison— St.  Patrick's 40 

North  Vernon— Nativity  B.  \'.  .M..  107 

Obertville— St.  Bernard's 28 

Oldenburg     Holy  Family 286 

Poseyville — St.  Francis  Xavier's..     30 

Prescott     St.  Vincent's 67 

Richmond — St.  Mary's   233 

St.  Andrew's  (German) 400 

Rockport— St.  Bernard's 53 

Rushville  —  Immaculate-  Concep- 
tion     1~3 

Siberia— St.  Martin's 53 

St.  Ann's  (Jennings  county) 87 

St.  Anthony's  (Dubois  county)...   166 


Schools.  Xo.  of  Pupils. 

.St.  Denis'  (Decatur  county)   33 

St.  Henry  (Dubois  county) 113 

St.  James  (Gibson  county) 120 

St.  John's  (Warrick  county) 53 

St.  Joseph's  (Clark  county) 93 

St.  Joseph's  (Dearborn  county). .  .  200 
St.  Joseph's  (Vanderburg  county).  87 
St.  Mary  of  the  Rocks  (Franklin 

county) 103 

Mission  of  Oak  Forest 53 

St.    Mary    of    the     Woods    (\'igo 

county) 67 

St.  Maurice  (Decatur  county).  ...  99 
St.  Meinrad  (Spencer  county). .  .      147 

St.  Nicholas  (Ripley  county) 40 

St.  Peter's  (Franklin  county) 160 

St.  Wendel  (Posey  county) 240 

Schnellville— Sacred  Heart 115 

Seymour — St.  Ambrose's 114 

Shelbyville— St.  Joseph's 133 

Starlight— St.  John's 87 

Tell  Ciiy— St.  Paul's 136 

Terre    Haute— St.  Joseph's   (girls 

attend  academy)  boys   .  .   173 

St.  Benedict's  (German) 238 

St.  Ann's  (German) 107 

St.  Patrick's 186 

Troy — St.  Pius 87 

Washfngton— St.  Simons 92 

Immaculate  Conception  (Ger- 
man)    181 

YorkviUe— St.  Martin's 110 


DIOCESE    OF    FORT    WAYNE. 


Schools.                        No.  of  Pupils. 
Fort    Wayne     Immaculate   Con- 
ception     '<^82 

Mother  of  God 521 

.St.  Patrick's 440 

St.  Paul's 210 

St  Pt  ter's 355 

Alexandria— St.  Mary's 157 

Anderson    -St.  Mary's 266 

Areola— St.  Patrick's  66 

Attica— St.  Francis' 53 


Schools.  No.  of  Pupilx. 

Avilla— St.  Augustine's 133 

Cedar  Lake— St.  Martin's 56 

Chesterton— St.  Patrick's 83 

Columbia  City-  -St.  Joseph's 80 

Crawfordsville   -St.  Bernard's 121 

Crown  Point--St.  Mary's 130 

Decatur — St.  Joseph's 333 

Delphi— St.  Joseph's 117 

Dunnington— St.  Mary's   147 

Dyer — St.  Joseph's 80 


(580) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


Schools.  No.  of  P'ipilK. 

E;ul  Park     St.  Anthony's 87 

Eiii — Immaculate  Conception  ....     45 

Elkhart     St.  \'incent's 177 

Elvvood  -St.  Joseph's 22;i 

Fowler — Sacred  Heart oo 

Garrett   City   -St.    Joseph's 177 

Go.shen— St.  John's iJU 

Hammond — St.  Joseph's 363 

St.  Casimir's 77 

All  Saints' ,155 

Hanover  Center— St.  Martin's.  .  ..     52 

Hesse  Cassel— St.  Joseph's 75 

Huntington— SS.  Peter  and  Paul's  188 

St.  Mary's 130 

Kentland — St.  Joseph's 41 

Klaasville — St.  Anthony's 35 

Kokomo— St.  Patrick's 128 

La  Fayette— St.  Mary's 297 

St.  Boniface's 270 

St.  Ann's 142 

St.  Lawrence's 101 

La  Gro-St.  Patrick's 32 

Laporte — St.  Rose's 40 

St.  Joseph's 72 

Logansport — St.  ^'incent  de  Paul's  300 

St.  Joseph's 288 

St.  Bridget's 157 

Lottaville—SS.  Peter  and  Paul's.     59 


Srhoois.  No.  of  I'lipi/n. 

Michigan  City     St.  Mary's 530 

St.  Stanislas" 150 

M  ishawaka  -  St.  Josejjh's 208 

Mdnrocvillc     St.  Rose's 50 

Monterey — St.  Ann's 7H 

Muncie-  St.  Lawrence's 303 

New  Corydon     Holy  Trinity 124 

New  Haven — St.  John  the  Baptist  128 

Otis-  Sacred  Heart 72 

Peru- — St.  Charles  Borromeo 250 

Plymouth— St.  Michael's IKi 

St.  John's  (Lake  county) 140 

St.  Mary's  Home  (Jay  county).  . . .   133 

Missions  in  Adams  county   53 

-St.  Vincent's  (Allen  county) 80 

Schererville — St.  Michael's 53 

Sheldon — St.  Aloysius' 71 

South  Bend— St.  Patrick's 400 

St.  Hedwig's 1017 

St.  Joseph's 322 

St.  Mary's 246 

Terre  Couppee — St.  Stanislas'....     50 

Tipton — St.  John's 168 

Union  City— St.  Mary's 123 

V;^!  Iparaiso — St.  Paul's 179 

Wanatah — Most  Precious  Blood. .     53 

Whiting— Sacred  Heart 193 

Winamac-  St.  Peter's 93 


(581) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  X\T. 

MONASTERIES,    CONVENTS,   AND  OTHER    CATHOLIC    RELIGIOUS    HOUSES 

IN  THE  STATE  OF  INDIANA. 

FOLLOWING    will    be     found    brief,    though    comprehensive, 
sketches  of  the  various  religious  houses  in  the  state  of  Indiana. 

EVANSVILLE,  VANDERBURG  COUNTY. 

The  Monastery  of  the  Poor  Clares  at  Evansville. — On  Tues- 
day, October  4,  1898,  the  Poor  Clares  of  the  Monastery  of  St. 
Clare,  Evansville,  celebrated  for  the  first  time  since  their  founda- 
tion in  this  city  the  festival  of  their  seraphic  patriarch,  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi.  At  10  A.  M.  there  was  a  solemn  high  mass,  the  celebrant 
being  the  Very  Rev.  Marianus  Fiege,  superior  of  the  Franciscan 
Capuchin  Fathers  at  Franklin,  Ind.,  assisted  by  Rev.  L.  M. 
Burkhardt,  of  the  church  of  St.  Boniface,  and  Rev.  Father  Schaub, 
of  St.  Mary's,  as  deacon  and  sub-deacon,  respectively.  Father 
Marianus  also  delivered  a  brief  discourse  on  the  great  St.  Francis, 
pointing  out  his  wonderful  and  singular  conformity  with  Jesus 
Christ  crucified,  which  characteristic  has  also  ever  been  the  chief 
feature  of  the  lives  of  his  spiritual  children,  the  members  of  the 
three  great  orders  established  by  him,  and  has  always  been  an 
object  lesson  to  people  in  the  world,  since  none  can  be  saved  unless 
he  be  made  "  conformable  to  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God." 

The  monastery  of  St.  Clare  at  Evansville  is  a  recent  founda- 
tion, and  the  third  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States.  The  history 
of  the  Poor  Clares  in  this  country  is  not  without  its  special  interest, 
though  we  can  touch  on  it  but  briefly. 

On  August  12,  1875,  in  obedience  to  his  Holiness,  Pope  Pius 
IX,  and  to  the  most  reverend  father-general  of  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  of   the   Observance,   two  sisters — sisters  in  the  world  as 

(582) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

well  as  in  the  cloister — Maria  Maddalena  and  Maria  Costanza, 
both  members  of  the  distinguished  noble  family  of  Bentivoglio,  in 
Rome,  set  out  from  the  ancient  monastery  of  San  Lorenzo  in 
Panispenra,  Rome,  to  come  to  the  United  States.  Before  leaving 
they  were  received  in  special  audience  by  the  Holy  Father,  who, 
with  his  blessing,  bade  them  go  to  a  land  where  man\-  were  but 
little  interested  in  spiritual  matters,  in  order  to  show  by  a  silent 
teaching  that  true  happiness  was  not  to  be  found  in  the  possession 
of  temporal  and  material  things.  They  were  introduced  to  his 
Holiness  by  Dr.  Chatard,  the  present  bishop  of  Indianapolis,  who 
was  then  the  rector  of  the  American  college  in  Rome,  and  who  had 
always  been  deeply  interested  in  the  foundation  of  the  Order  of 
Poor  Clares  in  his  own  native  country.  The  sisters  landed  in  New 
York  on  October  12,  1875,  and  their  first  permanent  establishment 
was  in  the  city  of  Omaha,  Neb.  Foundations  of  religious  com- 
munities have  always  been  attended  with  heavy  trials  and  crosses, 
and  the  daughters  of  St.  Clare  were  not  to  be  an  exception.  But 
their  difficulties  came  to  a  happy  termination  when,  on  July  14, 
1882,  they  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  the  first  monastery  of  their 
order  canonically  erected  in  the  United  States. 

The  new  community  prospered  under  the  blessing  of  God  so 
that,  in  1885,  a  colony  from  the  mother  house  in  Omaha  went  to 
establish  a  new  monastery  in  New  Orleans,  and  in  July,  1897, 
Mother  Mary  Maddalena  Bentivoglio  came  to  Evansville  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  another  foundation.  She  was  accompanied 
by  ten  sisters  from  Omaha,  who  volunteered  to  share  with  her  in 
the  hardships  inseparable  from  an  undertaking  of  this  kind.  The 
new  monastery  has  already  been  placed  on  a  canonical  footing;  the 
strict  monastic  enclosure  has  been  regularly  established,  and  all  the 
privileges  of  the  Franciscan  order,  in  particular  that  of  the  great 
indulgence  of  Portiuncula,  have  been  attached  to  it. 

The  life  of  the  Poor  Clares  is,  however,  unfortunately  not 
rightly  understood  by  the  vast  majority  of  men,  and  hence  their 
order  is  not  as  much  appreciated  as  it  deserves  to  be.  To  trample 
upon  the  riches  and  pleasures  of  this  world;  to  leave  the  world 
entirely,  and  shut  one's  self  up  within  the  four  walls  of  the  cloister; 
to  give  ones  self  to  a  life  of  great  austerity,  to  long  hours  of  watch- 

~(583) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ing  and  prayer,  day  after  day,  until  death,  and  thus  to  throw,  so  to 
speak,  one's  Hfe  away — this  the  world  cannot  understand;  but  the 
world  can  understand  and  know  how  to  value  the  lives  of  the  Little 
Sisters  of  the  Poor,  or  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  the  other 
religious  of  the  same  nature,  whose  lives  are  spent  among  the 
poor,  the  sick,  the  ignorant.  Here  the  good  that  is  being  done  is 
seen  by  all  the  world;  but  with  regard  to  the  Poor  Clares,  nothing 
is  seen;  and  hence  the  majority  of  men  conclude  that  nothing  is 
done.  But  if  their  lives  are  rightly  studied,  it  must  be  concluded 
that  the  good  they  are  doing  is  as  much  above  the  good  done  by 
many  others  as  the  soul  is  above  the  body. 

Visit  one  of  their  monasteries.  The  plain,  unpretentious 
building  is  in  itself  calculated  to  impress  you.  There  it  stands  in 
its  rigid  simplicity  and  utter  poverty,  as  a  silent  protest  to  worldly 
grandure  and  luxury.  Then  enter;  what  an  atmosphere  of  restful- 
ness,  of  peaceful  calm  and  happiness  pervades  the  whole  building. 
You  feel  yourself  lifted  above  the  world  and  feel  ever  so  much 
nearer  to  God.  And  you  leave  with  something  like  a  feeling  of 
jealousy  and  envy,  as  though  you  would  like  to  change  places  with 
these  recluses.  Poverty  and  simplicity  reign  supreme.  Their 
garments  are  of  coarse  material.  Shoes  and  stockings  are  a  luxurj' 
which  they  despise.  Their  bed  is  of  hard  straw.  Their  bill  of 
fare  is  extremely  simple.  They  never  touch  flesh  meat.  One  full 
meal  a  day  suffices.  They  observe  perpetual  silence,  interrupted 
only  once  a  day  for  a  short  time  as  a  little  recreation,  at  other 
times  only  through  necessity  or  charity.  There  are  other  peniten- 
tial exercises  now  and  then.  Then  there  are  long  hours  of  prayer, 
mental  and  vocal,  before  the  blessed  Sacrament.  And  the  rest  of 
the  time  is  usefully  spent  in  manual  labor,  the  work  of  the  house, 
a  little  gardening  and  needlework.  No  one  is  idle.  No  moment 
is  lost.  Many  go  there  born  and  reared  in  the  lap  of  luxury,  and 
yet  they  enjoy  excellent  health.  Many  join  who  are  of  a  weak  and 
delicate  constitution,  and  they  grow  perfectly  well  and  strong. 
Nearly  all  of  them  live  to  a  ripe  old  age. 

These  religious  are  noble  and  heroic  souls,  who  give  the  world 
magnificent  lessons  of  true  wisdom  and  courage;  their  lives  are  as 


(584) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

free  of  unselrtshness  and  as  full  of  genuine  charity  as  they  are  noble 
and  heroic. 

St.  Francis  of  Assisi  performed  a  complete  work  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  his  three  orders.  By  his  first  and  second  orders  he 
provided  for  those  who,  like  himself,  wished  to  retire  from  the 
world  and  consecrate  themselves  entirely  to  God.  By  his  third 
order  he  provided  for  all  Christians  in  the  world  who  were  anxious 
to  save  their  souls.  The  brethren  of  the  first  order  are  like  the 
soldiers  who  are  actively  engaged  on  the  battle  field,  fighting  against 
sin  and  vice  in  every  shape  and  form,  and  leading  men  on  both 
by  word  and  example  to  enroll  themselves  under  the  standard 
Jesus  Christ  and  to  follow  His  divine  example.  While  the  breth- 
ren are  thus  exposed  on  the  battle  field,  they  know  that  they  are 
assisted  in  the  work  of  saving  souls  by  their  sisters  in  the  retire- 
ment of  the  cloister,  kneeling  around  their  heavenly  Spouse,  be- 
seeching him  in  earnest  prayer,  by  their  tears  and  supplications, 
by  their  sinless  and  mortified  lives,  to  spare  the  souls  redeemed  by 
His  precious  blood.  And  it  will  never  be  known  until  the  last  day 
what  an  amount  of  good  the  world  owes  to  their  fervent  petitions. 

There  is  a  beautiful  scene  recorded  in  the  life  of  St.  Clare,  the 
holy  foundress  of  the  order,  which  was  a  sort  of  figure  of  what  the 
influence  of  the  lives  of  her  spiritual  daughters  would  effect.  When 
in  the  year  1239  the  Saracens  who  were  attached  to  the  army  of 
Frederick  H  attacked  the  city  of  Assisi  and  were  already  about  to 
break  into  Clare's  convent,  she  being  sick,  caused  herself  to  be 
carried  to  the  door,  holding  in  her  hands  the  sacred  vessel  contain- 
ing the  holy  Eucharist,  and  then  prayed  aloud.  "O  Lord,  deliver 
not  unto  beasts  the  souls  of  them  that  praise  Thee,  but  preserve 
Thy  handmaids  whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy  precious 
blood,"  whereupon  a  voice  was  heard  which  said,  "  I  will  always 
preserve  you."  And  thus  Clare  saved  both  her  own  daughters  as 
well  as  the  city  of  Assisi,  for  the  Saracens,  being  blinded  by  an 
unseen  power,  fied  in  dismay  in  every  direction. 

Thus  are  the  spiritual  daughters  of  St.  Clare  employed  at  the 
present  day  in  checldng  and  warding  off  the  dire  attacks  of  the 
spiritual  enemies  of  men's  souls,  and   thus  do  they  in   a  special 

35  (685) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

manner  defend  that  city  which  S'ves  them  shelter  and  protect  that 
country  where  they  abide. 

FERDINAND,     DUBOIS     COUNTY. 

The   Convent   of   the   Immaculate   Conception  at  Ferdinand, 
Dubois    county. — The    Sisters    of    Providence    had    charge  of  the 
schools   at   Ferdinand    until    1867,   when   the    Benedictine    Sisters 
replaced  them.      The  chapel  of  the  latter  was   blessed   by  Father 
Bede.  July  11,   1870;  January  21,   1871,  their  convent  was  blessed. 
The    Sisters   had  arrived  at  Ferdinand,  August  20.   1867,  and  had 
taken  up  their  abode  in  the  house  previously  occupied  by  the  other 
Sisters.      Sister  Benedicta  was  appointed  superior  until  the  com- 
munity should  be  sufficiently  numerous  to  hold  a  regular  election. 
The  little  dwelling  of  the  Sisters  consisted  of  but  three  rooms.     In 
the  fall  of  1867,  however,  an  addition  of  two  rooms,  with  a  chapel, 
was  made,  in  which   holy   mass  was   celebrated,  December  8,  for 
the  first  time.      Several  postulants  soon  petitioned  for  admittance. 
The  constitution  for  the  government    of   the    community   was 
drawn  up  by  Right  Rev.  Martin  Marty,  and   an  order  of  the  day 
was    written    out.       Rev.    Father   Chrysostome   was  the   spiritual 
director  and  founder  of  the  community.      At  the  first  election,  held 
June  I,   1872,  according  to  the  new  constitution.  Venerable  Sister 
Benedicta  was  chosen  prioress.      She  was  re-elected  July  7,   1875. 
Since  1878   Mother  Agatha  has  successfully  conducted   the   affairs 
of  the  community.      In  1872  the  Sisters  were   able  to   buy  sixty- 
four  acres  of  land  adjoining  the  convent   grounds.      A  neat  frame 
house  was  then  erected  and  placed  under  the  charge   of  two  Sis- 
ters.     The  community  has  prospered  and  has  so  increased  that  the 
superiors  have  been  enabled  to  establish  branch  houses  at  the  fol- 
lowing  places:     St.    Meinrad,    Ind.,  1876;    Rockport,    Ind.,    1877; 
Standing   Rock,    Dak.,    1878;    St.    Scholastica   and   St.    Benedict, 
Ark.,   1878;  Fulda,  Ind.,  1878;  St.  Anthony,  Ind..  1879;  St.  Henry, 
1 88 1,  and  many  others.      The  total  number   received    in  the  con- 
vent since  it  was  founded,  in  1867,  to  1883,  was  sixty.      Of  these 
five  have  been  called  to  receive  their  reward;   twenty-two  are  out 
as  missionaries,  and  the  remaining   thirty-three  are   employed   at 
home. 


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^^^^y^Bteiw.- 


IN    tHE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

In  1883  work  was  bej,'un  on  a  new   buildinj^,  and  in    1887  this 
was  completed  at  a  cost  of  over  $80,000.      This  stands  on  a  slight 
eminence    overlooking    the    town,    and    occupies    a   ground    space 
i86x  160  feet,  is  rectangular  in  form,  and   the  outer  walls    inclose 
a  chapel  situated   in  the  center  of  the  grounds  proper.      The  com- 
munity now  comprises  ninety-one  Sisters,  who  have  charge  of  fif- 
teen public  and  twenty-one  parochial  schools  throughout   the  dio- 
cese of  Vincennes,  and  an  academy  for  young  ladies  in  direct  con- 
nection with  the   convent,  and  it  is  in  contemplation  to  erect   still 
another  academy  at  West  Indianapolis.      The   present  superioress 
of  the  mother-house   at  Ferdinand   is  Venerable   Mother  M.  Scho- 
lastica,  O.  S.  11      The  cost  of  the  convent  and  its  furnishings  has 
reached  at  least  $100,000. 

INDIANAPOLIS,    MARION   COUNTY. 

As  stated  elsewhere,  the  church-building  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
parish,  Indianapolis,  which  was  erected  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1875,  was  intended  to  be  used  exclusively,  later  on,  as  a 
monastery.  The  large  three-story  building  was  so  constructed 
that,  for  the  beginning,  the  third  story  only  was  in  use  of  the  relig- 
ious community.  After  the  building  was  blessed  on  the  25th  of 
December,  1875,  the  following  formed  the  first  community:  Rev. 
Alardus  Andrescheck,  superior;  Revs.  Francis  Moenning,  Vincent 
Halbfas,  Pancratius  Schulte  and  Arsenius  Fahle,  and,  as  lay- 
brothers,  Adrain  Wewer,  Marianus  Beile  and  Amandus  Jung. 

Rev.  Alardus  Andrescheck  was  born  at  BresJau,  Germany, 
May  29,  1839,  joined  the  order  of  Franciscans,  February  9,  1862, 
and  was  ordained  priest  February  7,  1868.  He  was  succeeded  as 
superior  by  the  Rev.  P.  Ferdinand  Bergmeyer,  who  was  born  at 
Riesenbeck,  October  30,  1825,  has  been  in  the  order  since  June 
25,  11852,  and  was  ordained  September  4,  1856.  He  came  to 
America  in  1859  and  had  been  laboring  in  the  sacred  ministry  at 
Quincy,  Teutopolis,  and  especialy  at  St.  Louis.  In  January,  1877, 
he  was  superior  of  the  monastery  at  Indianapolis  and  was  assisted 
by  the  Fathers.  Victor  Aertker,  Raynerius  Dickneite,  Alexius  Ber- 
nard, Stanislaus  Riemann,  Richard  van  Heek,  Rudolph  Horst- 
mann,  Othmar  Putthoff  and  Eustace  Niemoeller.     Among  the  lay- 

"(589) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

brothers  stationed  at  the  monastery  during  this  period,  we  find 
Brother  Damian  Bueschgeus,  Didacus  Eigenscher,  Leopold  Breuer, 
Marcus  Schaefer,  Isidore  Tretelski,  Galhis  Stute,  Hystus  Till- 
mann.  In  the  year  1877,  lay-brother  Onesimus  Steinmeyer  died 
March  28,  and  lay-brother  Paschalis  Kutsche,  August  3. 

During  nine  years  the  Rev.  P.  Ferdinand  presided  over  the 
parish  and  convent.  In  1885  he  was  sent  as  superior  to  the  old 
Franciscan  mission  at  Santa  Barbara.  It  was  in  that  place  he 
was  insidiously  murdered,  February  27,  1896,  by  an  insane  person, 
upon  whom  he  had  conferred  many  favors. 

In  1885  Rev.  P.  Francis  Haase  succeeded   Father  Ferdinand 
as  superior  and  pastor.      He  was  born  at  Kreiwitz,  near  Neustadt, 
Silesia,    October  4,    1852,    entered  the   monastery    December    15, 
1870,  came  to    America   in  1875,  and    was    ordained    at    St.  Louis 
July  25,  1877.      Before  receiving  his  call  to  Indianapolis,  he  labored 
at   Teutopolis   as  professor   of  St.    Joseph's   college.      During   his 
administration,  in  the  year  1890,  the  convent  was  remodeled  and 
an  addition  connecting  convent  and  church  was  built.      This  addi- 
tion contained  a  new  sacristy,  two   parlors,  an  oratory  and  several 
other  apartments.      During  six  years    Father   Francis  was  assisted 
by  Rev.  P.  Augustine  Heuseler,  who,  by  his  able  sermons  and  his 
successful  management  of  the  Young  Men's  society  and  the  society 
of  Christian  Mothers,  endeared   himself  to   many  hearts.      During 
this  period  we  find  the   following    Reverend    Fathers  and  Brothers 
at  the  monastery:      Revs.  Arsenius  Fahle,  Max  Klein,  Very  Rev. 
Maurice  Klostermann,  ex-provincial;  Angelus  Bill,  Quirinus  Stueck- 
er,  and   Fulgentius  Eich:    Bros.    Aguellus,    Marian,    Edmund  and 
Kilian. 

The  successor  of  Father  Francis  was  the  Rev.  P.  Bernardine 
Weis.  He  was  born  at  Meinersbach,  Bavaria,  October  14,  1856, 
entered  the  order  December  25,  1868,  at  Teutopolis,  and  was 
ordained  priest  at  St.  Louis,  December  27,  1874.  Before  his 
appointment  as  superior  at  Indianapolis  he  labored  at  Teutopolis, 
Ind.,  Joliet,  Ills.,  and  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  which  last-named  place  he 
had  been  superior  for  four  years  and  a  half. 

His  assistant  at  Indianapolis  was  the  Rev.  P.  Gerardus  Becher, 
O.  F.  M.      Other  P'^athers   of   the   house  t^  this  time  were  Revs. 

(590^^ 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Roger  Middeiulorf.  Laurence  Pauly,  Benedict  Schmidt,  Godfrey 
Hollters  and  Alexis  Bernard,  who  died  suddenly  July  i,  1H94. 
The  follo\\ing  lay  brothers  also  deserve  mention:  Eberhard,  Fri- 
dolin,  Eugene,  Rigobert  and  Frederic. 

In  1894  Rev.  P.  Bernardine  received  a  call  again  to  St.  Louis 
and  Rev.  P.  Gerarduswas  transferred  to  Santa  Barbara,  Gal.  Their 
places  were  filled  by  Rev.  P.  P'rancis  Haase,  superior,  and  P.  Ber- 
nard Wewer,  as  assistant.  Towards  the  close  of  1894  Father 
Francis  had  the  convent  grounds  enclosed  with  a  substantial  brick 
wall. 

In  1896  the  convent  building  was  evacuated  by  the  congrega- 
tion and  the  entire  building  left  to  the  use  of  the  Fathers.  In  1897, 
therefore,  a  new  library  and  a  number  of  rooms  were  arranged  on 
the  second  floor.  Revs.  Bonaventure  Faulhaber,  Simon  Schwarz, 
Desiderius  von  Frentz  and  Sebastian  CebuUa  were  active  at  the 
convent  during  this  period,  from  1894. 

The  following  make  up  the  community  at  present  C 1898): 

Rev.  P.  Francis  Haase,  superior;  Very  Rev.  P.  Michael 
Richardt,  ex-provincial;  Rev.  P.  Zachary  Ehlen;  Rev.  P.  Bernard 
Wewer.  assistant  of  the  parish;  Rev.  P.  Matthew  Schmitz,  and 
Bros.  Isidore,  Eusebius,  Rigobert,  Francis  and  Longinus. 

In  order  to  fully  explain  the  labor  of  the  Fathers  outside  of  the 
convent,  we  shall  now  give  a  brief  history  of  the  various  missions 
attended  to  by  the  Fathers  of  the  monastery  at  Indianapolis. 

In  the  year  1857  a  small  chapel  was  erected  at  Knightstown, 
Henry  county,  by  the  few  faithful  residing  here.  Rev.  P.  Arsenius 
Fable  was  the  first  Franciscan  Father  who  took  charge  of  this  mis- 
sion. He  was  followed  by  Rev.  P.  Victor  Aertker,  in  1879.  His 
first  care  was  to  erect  two  rooms  adjoining  the  church,  to  be  used 
partly  as  his  residence  and  partly  as  a  sacristy.  In  1881  Rev.  P. 
John  Ryves  took  charge  of  this  congregation  and  it  has  since  been 
attended  by  several  secular  priests.  At  present  it  is  under  the 
pastorage  of  St.  John's  church  of  Indianapolis. 

Forty  years  ago  the  Catholics  of  Greenfield,  Hancock  county, 
were  visited  occasionally  by  missionary  priests.  At  those  times 
mass  was  said  in  private  houses.  In  i860  a  frame  building  was 
bought  by  Mgr.  A.  Bessonies,  then  stationed  at  St.   John's  church, 

l69r) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Indianapolis.  This  building,  which  had  served  as  a  school-house, 
became  now  the  place  of  worship  for  thirty  years.  The  congrega- 
tion at  that  time  numbered  about  fifteen  families.  Mgr.  Bessonies 
said  mass  occasionally  for  two  years.  Up  to  1876  there  seems  no 
one  had  special  charge  of  the  church,  it  being  visited  off  and  on  by 
priests  stationed  at  St.  John's  church.  From  1862  till  1876  the 
following  Fathers  attended  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  faithful: 
Rev.  O'Riely,  D.  J.  McMullen,  H.  Alerding  and  I).  Donovan. 

In  1876  the  Franciscan  Fathers  took  charge  of  this  mission 
and  have  ever  since  visited  the  place.  The  first  of  these  fathers 
was  P.  Arsenius  Fahle;  after  him  came  P.  Victor  Aertker,  and  then 
P.  Alexius  Bernard  was  pastor  in  1880-82.  He  enlarged  the 
frame  church,  adding  eighteen  feet  to  it,  so  that  the  building  was 
then  22x58  feet.  From  1882  Rev.  P.  Stanislaus  went  to  Green- 
field, and  in  1885  he  was  followed  by  Rev.  P.  Rudolf.  P.  Angelus 
Bill  visited  the  place  for  a  number  of  years,  from  1887,  bimonthly, 
as  it  is  done  also  now.  P.  Laurentius  Pauly  became  pastor  of 
Greenfield  in  1892;  he  worked  very  faithfully,  procured  many 
church  vestments,  and  also  did  much  in  getting  a  fair  start 
financially  for  the  erection  of  a  new  church.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Simon  P.  Schwarz,  who  attended  the  place  for  one  year. 
In  1896  P.  Zachary  Ehlen  took  charge  of  Greenfield.  Under  his 
care  the  present  brick  church  was  built.  It  is  of  plain  Gothic 
style  and  cost  $4,000;  the  steeple  and  sanctuary  are  not  com- 
pleted; the  nave  of  the  church  is  34x60  feet,  inside.  Mass  was 
said  in  the  new  church  for  the  first  time  February  28,  1898.  It 
was,  however,  not  solemnly  dedicated  till  May  15,  of  the  same 
year.  The  dedication  ceremony  was  performed  by  P.  Francis 
Haase,  O.  F.  M.,  the  sermon  being  delivered  by  Very  Rev.  D. 
O'Donaghue.  The  congregation  numbers  about  forty  families. 
The  Greenfield  church  is  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Michael. 

Together  with  Greenfield,  Fortville,  Hancock  county,  was 
given  to  the  care  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers.  The  priest  attending 
Greenfield  paid  his  visits  also  to  Fortville.  The  congregation, 
which  consists  of  fifteen  families,  has  divine  service  once  a  month. 
The  church  is  dedicated  to  St.  Thomas. 


(592) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

In  1877  the  Franciscan  Fathers  took  charp;c  of  the  church  at 
Acton,  Marion  county.  Rev.  P.  Victor  was  the  iirst  to  <^o  there. 
The  congregation  numbered  al)out  eighteen  faniihes.  They  had  a 
small  frame  church,  hardly  suitable  for  divine  worship.  In  i8.Sf 
Rev.  P.  Ale.xius  built  a  large  brick  church.  Great  were  the  sacri- 
fices of  the  faithful.  In  1883  the  congregation  numbered  twenty- 
four  families.  The  successor  of  Rev.  P.  Alexius  was  Rev.  P. 
Rudolf,  who  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  P.  Stanislaus.  The  congre- 
gation remained  under  the  pastorage  of  the  Franciscan  F'athers 
until  the  year  1888,  when  it  was  made  a  mission  for  the  pastor  of 
Shelby  ville.  Rev.  J.  A.  Kaelin  paid  off  all  the  remaining  debts  of  the 
church.  I'rom  that  time  Acton  had  service  twice  every  month. 
In  1 89 1  it  was  given  to  the  Fathers  of  St.  John's  church  at 
Indianapolis. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Valley  Mills,  Marion  county,  there 
lived  about  ten  families  for  whom  the  way  to  Indianapolis  was  too 
far.  In  1877  the  Franciscan  Fathers  were  requested  to  visit  this 
place  at  least  once  a  month.  Services  were  held  in  the  dwelling 
of  John  Kervin.  In  1882  the  Franciscan  Fathers  built  a  little 
frame  church  near  Kervin's  residence.  It  measures  24x40  feet, 
and  has  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  as  its  patron.  The  pastor,  Rev. 
P.  Matthew,  who  at  present  has  charge  of  this  place,  directs  Sun- 
day services  but  four  times  a  year;  but  throughout  the  year  it  is 
visited  every  month  on  a  week  day.  In  the  course  of  time,  the 
Revs.  P.  Raynerius,  Ferdinand,  Francis,  Quirinus,  F'ulgentius, 
Roger  and  Zachary  attended  this  place. 

The  congregation  at  Franklin,  Johnson  county,  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers  in  1878.  Rev.  P.  \'ictor 
Aertker  was  the  first  Franciscan  who  ^•isited  this  place.  The 
small  frame  church  had  been  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  Catho- 
lics by  Rev.  P.  McMullen.  Formerly  this  church  had  served  the 
purpose  of  a  meeting-house  for  Protestants.  Rev.  P.  Victor 
annexed  a  small  room,  for  the  priest's  use,  to.  the  church.  The 
successor  of  Rev.  P.  Victor  was  Rev.  P.  Stanislaus,  who  remained 
until  1 88 1.  Later  on.  Revs.  P.  Alexius,  Maximilian  and  Quirinus 
visited  Franklin.      From  1892  till  1895,  Rev.  P.  Roger  had  charge 


(593) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  this  congregation,  when  the  right  reverend  bishop  gave  the 
charge  of  it  to  Rev.  P.  WilHam  Liesen,  a  secular  priest.  In  1897 
the  Capuchin  Fathers  settled  in  Franklin  and  have  since  been  the 
pastors  of  the  congregation. 

The  Catholic  congregation  of  Brightwood,  Marion  county,  a 
suburb  of  Indianapolis,  was  established  by  the  Right  Rev.  Francis 
Silas  Chatard  in  1887.  On  the  3d  of  July  of  the  same  year  the 
church  was  dedicated.  The  church  had  been  erected  many  years 
before,  but  had  served  as  a  meeting-house  for  Methodists.  It, 
together  with  the  adjoining  grounds,  had  been  purchased  for  the 
sum  of  $3,000.  It  received  St.  Francis  of  Sales  as  patron.  Rev. 
P.  Curran  was  the  first  pastor  of  this  church.  In  November,  1883, 
the  Franciscan  Fathers  obtained  the  pastorage  of  Brightwood. 
Rev.  P.  Rudolph  Horstmann  was  the  first  who  was  sent  there  and 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Stanislaus,  August,  1885,  and  he  by  Rev. 
P.  Maximilian  Klein,  who  remained  until  1888.  The  last  men- 
tioned had  the  interior  of  the  church  renovated.  His  successor. 
Rev.  P.  Quirinus,  paid  off  the  remaining  debt.  In  1892  Rev.  P. 
Pulgentius  visited  the  congregation  until  July,  when  Rev.  P.  Roger 
succeeded  him.  Under  his  pastorage  the  roof,  the  foundation  and 
the  windows  of  the  church  were  repaired  and  a  new  way  of  the 
Cross  and  new  vestments  were  purchased.  He  also  established 
the  following  societies:  St.  Agnes'  sodality  for  young  ladies,  and 
a  branch  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John  with  a  membership  of 
twenty-eight  men.  For  the  societies  he  also  built  a  club-room, 
attached  to  the  priest's  house.  He  was  succeeded  in  1896  by 
Rev.  P.  Simon  Schwarz.  In  1897  Rev.  P.  Matthew  Schmitz  was 
commissioned  to  go  thither.  He  procured  many  valuable  vessels 
for  divine  worship.  At  present  the  congregation  comprises  about 
eighty  families,  twenty-five  of  whom  are  German.  Service  is  held 
now  every  Sunday. 

In  the  year  1870  a  small  church  at  Martinsville,  Morgan 
county,  was  purchased  by  the  Rev.  P.  Gillig  for  the  use  of  the  few 
Catholics  residing  here.  It  also  had  served  pieviously  the  purpose 
of  a  meeting-house  for  Protestants.  Rev.  P.  Arsenius  was  the 
first   Franciscan   P^ather    who   took    charge    of    this    congregation, 


(594) 


IN    THE    STATE    OI'     INDIANA, 


which  at  the  time  numbered  about  twenty  families.  He  procured 
a  bell  for  the  church,  and  also  purchased  some  necessary  articles 
for  divine  worship.  His  successor,  Rev.  P.  Victor,  visited  this 
congre^^ation  regularly  every  third  Sunday  of  the  month.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  P.  Stanislaus  Riemann.  In  1887  Rev.  P. 
Angelus  became  pastor  of  this  congregation.  His  first  aim  and 
endeavois  were  to  erect  a  new  church.  In  1890  the  old  church 
was  torn  down  and  a  new  one  in  Gothic  style  was  erected  on  the 
same  grounds.  The  material  of  the  old  church  was  used  in  the 
new  building,  so  that  the  new  church  cost  only  $4,000.  The  same 
P^ather  also  annexed  a  room  for  the  use  of  the  priest  to  this  church 
in  1892.      The  congregation  did  not  increase  much   in  number  of 

families. 

Rev.  P.  Laurentius,  who  succeeded  Rev.  P.  Angelus  at 
Martinsville  in  1893,  tried  very  hard  to  diminish  the  debt  restmg 
upon  the  new  church.  In  1895  the  debt  still  amounted  to  $900. 
In  the  same  year  Rev.  P.  Laurentius  was  transferred  to  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  Rev.  P.  Simon  was  appointed  as  his  successor  at  Martins- 
ville. In  1897  Rev.  P.  Matthew  had  charge  of  this  congregation, 
and  in  the  year  1898  Rev.  P.  Zacharias  was  appointed  pastor  of 
the  Martinsville  parish,  numbering  now  about  thirty  families.  The 
congregation  has  yet  a  debt  of  $700. 

Besides  these  missions,  the  Rev.  Franciscan  Fathers  at  times 
also  visited  the  Catholics  at  Danville,  Hendricks  county,  where 
there  are  about  four  Catholic  families.  They,  however,  have  no 
church.  Likewise  Augusta,  Marion  county,  was  visited  by  the 
Fathers  several  times,  where  also  are  a  few  Catholic  families,  but 
they  have  no  church.  In  1888  Rev.  P.  Angelus  Bill  attended  to  the 
wants  of  the  Catholics  at  Mullen  settlement,  Hamilton  county, 
once  every  month.  There  is  a  congregation  of  twenty  families 
who  have  erected  a  small  church.  Since  1891  this  church  has 
been  in  charge  of  a  priest  of  Tipton. 

The  history  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  at  Indianapolis,  will 
be  found  in  connection  with  the  church  history  on  page  305,  this 
volume. 


(595) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


OLDENBURG,     FRANKLIN    COUNTY. 


The  Convent  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers  at  Oldenburg-  came 
into  being  under  its  present  name  August  7,  1866,  when  the 
Franciscan  Fathers  of  the  Cincinnati  province  of  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist assumed  charge  of  what  had  hitherto  been  known  as  the  parish 
of  the  Holy  Family-  When  the  Rev.  P.  Rudolpf,  pastor  of  this 
parish,  died  on  the  29th  day  of  May,  1866,  the  parish  was  attended 
to  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Doyle  until  the  coming  of  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  at  the  date  mentioned  above,  and  these  have  remained 
here  ever  since.  In  1868  a  class  of  clerics  belonging  to  the  same 
province  took  up  their  residence  here,  in  order  to  pursue  their 
studies  in  preparation  for  the  holy  priesthood,  and  from  that  time 
until  the  present,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  years,  this 
convent  has  served  as  the  home  of  the  novitiate,  or  the  house  of 
study,  for  the  younger  members  of  the  Franciscan  order.  The 
number  of  these  continued  to  increase,  and  the  stone  building  which 
they  occupied  became  inadequate  for  their  accommodation.  There- 
fore, in  1894,  the  present  beautiful  brick  edifice  was  erected  and 
was  dedicated  ky  the  flight  Rev.  Bishop  Chatard  December  10, 
1895.  This  building  is  used  e.xclusively  as  a  theological  institute 
for  the  clerics  of  the  Franciscan  order,  and  is  now  occupied  by 
five  priests,  twenty-four  clerics  and  four  lay  brothers,  the 
Rev.    David  Kersting,    O.    F.    M.,  being  the  guardian. 

The  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  at  Oldenburg, 
Franklin  county,  Ind.,  was  established,  in  1850,  by  Rev.  F.  J. 
Rudolf,  who  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  parish  at  Oldenburg  in 
1842.  When  he  arrived  here,  he  found  a  log  church  which  was 
not  finished;  he  at  once  formed  a  plan  for  a  new  church,  as  he  did 
not  wish  to  spend  what  money  he  had  on  this  old  building,  since  it 
would  not  have  answered  the  purpose  after  its  completion.  Beside 
the  parish  at  Oldenburg,  Rev.  F.  |.  Rudolf  was  to  attend  a  number 
of  small  stations  where  congregations  were  being  organized,  such 
consisting  of  about  fifteen  or  twenty  families.  At  these  stations 
there  were  little  log  churches,  but  no  schools.  To  obtain  com- 
petent teachers  for  his  parish,    as   well    as  for  these  stations,  Rev. 


(596) 


CHURCH  OF  THE   IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION, 

OLDENBURG,  IND. 


CHURCH    OF  THE   HOLY   FAMILY, 
OLDENBURG,   IND. 


IN    THE    STATE    OI'    INDIANA. 

F.  J.  Rudolf  at  once  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  an  institu- 
tion for  the  training  of  teachers,  who  could  teach  both  Cerman 
and  English;  he  immediately  applied  for  permission  to  establish 
such  an  institution,  which  permission  was  readily  granted,  and  he 
at  once  secured  the  aid  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  in  carrying 
forward  the  project.  The  Sisters  set  to  work  with  an  energy  and 
a  will  worthy  of  their  saintly  founder.  In  a  comparatively  short 
time  a  convent  was  erected  at  Oldenburg  and  schools  were  opened 
at  all  these  stations;  an  academy  also  was  opened  at  the  same  time 
at  Oldenburg,  where  the  mother  house  was  established.  Little 
did  Father  Rudolf  think  that  the  institution  which  he  founded 
under  such  trying  circumstances  would  ever  grow  to  do  the  work 
in  which  it  is  at  present  engaged.  The  community  now  numbers 
400  members,  most  of  whom  are  engaged  in  teaching;  they  conduct 
six  academies,  fifty  nine  parochial  schools,  and  one  school  for 
colored  children.  Beside  the  mother-house  at  Oldenburg,  the  com- 
munity possesses  nine  branch  houses  in  different  states.  The 
mother-house  consists  of  the  convent  proper,  the  novitiate,  the 
infirmary  and  the  academy.  The  grounds  comprise  400  acres,  and 
the  church,  which  was  built  at  a  "cost  of  $80,000,  is  one  of  the 
finest  structures  in  the  state.  Plans  are  now  nearly  complete  for 
the  building  of  a  new  convent.  The  foundation  is  to  be  laid  this 
fall  (1898)  and  it  will  be  a  very  imposing  and  substantial  building, 
when  finished,  and  this  will  be  when  the  community  shall  celebrate 
its  golden  jubilee,  in  1900. 

TIFTOX,    TIPTON    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Convent,  at  Tipton,  became  a  permanent  institu- 
tion of  the  city  in  1891,  when  the  main  part  of  the  stately  edifice 
was  erected  on  Mill  street,  although  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  had 
been  teaching  here  since  1888.  The  present  building  is  of  grand 
proportions,  occupying  a  ground  space  of  60x100  feet,  is  three 
stories  high,  has  accommodations  for  lOO  pupils,  cost  about  $20,- 
000,  and  was  completed  in  1894.  Even  this  commodious  estab- 
lishment has  become  too  confined  in  space  for  the  growing  demands 
on  the  Sisters,  who  have  achieved  a  distinguished  reputation  as 
instructors,  hence  they  have  purchased  a  tract  of  land  a  mile  north 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  the  city,  with  the  contemplation  of  erecting  a  still  more  ele- 
gant and  commodious  convent  in  the  near  future,  away  from  the 
noise  and  distraction  of  city  life.  [  The  students  from  abroad  are 
allowed  to  have  rooms  and  board  in  the  convent.  There  are  at 
present  thirty  Sisters  attached  to  the  convent,  who  have  branches 
at  Elwood,  Kokomo  and  Logansport. 


(602) 


ims^^si. 


Q 
2 

2 

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IN    THK    STATK    Ol      INDIANA. 


CHAPTER  WIT. 

CATHOLIC    CHARITIES— HOSPITALS,     ORPHANAGES    AND    OTHKK    ELEE- 
MOSYNARY   INSTITUTIONS    IN    THE    STATE. 


T 


HIS  brief  chapter  contains  a  succinct  history  of  the  grander 
charitable  institutions  maintained  by  the  Cathohc  church  in 
Indiana,  and  surely  they  constitute  in  themselves  a  monument  to 
its  liberality  and  deep-seated  sympathy  for  the  unfortunate  mem- 
bers of  the  church  itself,  as  well  as  for  the  distressed  of  all  creeds. 

ANDERSON.     MADISON    COUNTY. 

St.  John's  Hospital,  under  the  auspices  of  St.  Mary's  church, 
was  founded  in    1894,  the  ground  being  donated  by  John  Hickey, 
a   native  of  county  Wicklow.  Ireland,  but.  since   1853,  a  resident 
of  Anderson.      The  deed  bears  date  March  31.  and  the  conveyance 
was  made  to  the  trustees  of  the  church  for   the  use  of  the  Sisters 
of  the  Holy  Cross.      The  building  is  of  brick,  is  two  stories  high, 
and  occupies  a  ground   space  of  95  x  65  feet.      It    contains   seven- 
teen finely-equipped  rooms    and   two  general  wards,  and   since   its 
completion  the  hospital   has  been    under  the  supervision  of   Sister 
Victoria    of  the  Holy  Cross,  of  South  Bend,  and   of  Sister  Sylves- 
ter      The  immense  amount  of  good  work  done  by  these  Sisters  is 
incalculable,    and    no    words    of    commendation    are    adequate    to 
express  the  gratitude  due  them. 

EORT    WAYNE.    ALLEN    COUNTY. 

St    Joseph's  Hospital,  Fort  Wayne,  Ind..  was  opened  May  9. 
1869       In  the  year  1868.  eight  venerable  sisters.  Poor  Handmaids 
of  Jesus  Christ,  came  from  Europe  from  the  mother-house.  Dern- 
bach     Nassau,   where   this   congregation  was   founded   in    1850  by 
Miss  Catherine  Kasper,  in  the  diocese  of  Limburg.     The  first  mem- 

"T605) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

bers  made  their  religious  profession  August  15,  185  i.  The  found- 
ress' rehgious  name  was  Yen.  Sister  Mary,  mother-general  of  the 
Poor  Handmaids  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  death  occurred  February 
2,   1898. 

In  1866,  in  behalf  of  Right  Rev.  J.  H.  Bishop  Luers,  Rev. 
Edward  Koenig,  now  deceased,  wrote  to  his  friend,  the  Vicar- 
General  Spaller,  of  the  diocese  of  Paderborn,  to  interest  himself 
to  establish  a  hospital  in  the  prosperous  little  city  of  Fort  Wayne. 
The  effort  was  successful. 

In  1869  the  Poor  Handmaids  of  Jesus  Christ  opened  the 
so-called  Rockhill  Place  as  a  hospital.  With  this  hospital  is  con- 
nected the  convent  of  the  Poor  Handmaids  of  Jesus  Christ,  which 
is  at  the  same  time  the  mother-house  of  said  congregation  for  the 
United  States  of  America. 

Sister  Mary  Rosa  was  the  superioress  of  the  first  little  band. 
She  returned  to  Europe  in  1872.  The  other  sisters  were:  Ven. 
Sister  Mary  Hyacintha,  present  mother-provincial;  Ven.  Sister 
Mary  Eudoxia,  present  novice-mistress;  Sisters  Facunda,  Henrica, 
Bella.  Matrona  and  Corona.  They  first  settled  for  a  short  time 
at  Hesse  Cassel,  eight  miles  from  Fort  Wayne,  from  which  place 
three  Sisters  went  to  Chicago  to  take  charge  of  the  orphan  asylum 
at  Rose  Hill,  of  which  the  Sisters  still  retain  the  management. 
In  May,  1869,  the  hospital  was  opened,  and  the  number  of  Sisters 
was  increased  from  Europe  by  seven. 

The  houses  of  America  are  in  the  states  of  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Minnesota  and  Wisconsin.  The  Sisters  of  this  community  have 
charge  of  parochial  schools,  hospitals,  orphanages  and  homes  for 
the  aged.  The  rules  for  the  members  of  the  community  were 
approved  by  the  Holy  See  in  1870,  namely,  by  the  deceased  Pope 
Pius  IX,  and  confirmed  by  Pope  Leo  XIII,  in  1890. 

The  mother-house  of  Fort  Wayne  proved  itself  too  small  to 
accommodate  the  wants  of  the  congregation,  therefore  the  beau- 
tiful convent  and  chapel  was  built  in  1848  at  a  cost  of  $33,000. 
The  Ven.  Sister  Mary  Prudentia,  now  deceased,  was  at  that  time 
mother-provincial. 

In  1892  the  south  wing,  130x30  feet,  was  built,  \'en.  Sister 
Mary   Secunda  being  then   provincial   superioress.     The  building 

(H06) 


IN    Till':    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


has  now  accoinuiodations  for  iiiorc  tliaii  i  50  beds.  In  1 896  the 
old  hospital,  which  was  built  in  1847,  and  had  served  for  a  hotel 
until  1869,  was  remodeled,  and  a  fourth  story  added,  with  a  splen- 
did operating-room,  with  the  latest  equipments. 

The  hospital  now  has  two  very  spacious  operating-rooms — one 
on  the  first  floor,  south  wing,  the  other  on  the  fourth  floor,  on  Main 
street.  The  average  number  of  patients  at  the  hospital  during  the 
year  is  between  400  and  500.  The  hospital  is  open  to  all,  rich  or 
poor;  and  it  matters  not  to  what  creed  they  may  belong.  The 
present  chaplain  and  spiritual  director  is  Rev.  Jos.  Thomas  Eisen- 
ring. 

St.  Vincent's  Orphanage. — This  magnificent  building  is  a 
noble  monument  to  the  charitable  zeal  of  its  founder,  the  late  Rt. 
Rev.    Joseph    Dwenger,    D.    D. ,    bishop  of    the    diocese    of    Fort 

Wayne. 

This  orphanage  was  erected  during  1886  and  1887,  at  a  total 
cost  of  about  $75,000,  and  is  a  four-story  brick  structure,  covering 
126x100  feet,  and  has  twenty  acres  of  ground  attached.  The 
building  has  accommodations  for  over  400  inmates  and  is  supplied 
with  water,  gas,  steam-heating  apparatus  and  fire  protectors. 
Two  rooms  are  devoted  to  the  educational  needs  of  the  children, 
and  at  present  there  are  in  the  institution  130  children  of  school 
age,  and  over  thirty  who  are  too  young  to  be  placed  under  the 
restraint  of  school-room  discipline. 

The  orphanage  is  under  the  control  of  the  Sisters,  Poor  Hand- 
maids of  Christ.  At  present  two  of  these  Sisters  are  engaged  in 
the  school  while  eight  others  are  occupied  with  the  domestic  affairs 
of  the  institution.  The  average  annual  outlay  for  the  support  of 
this  asylum  is  about  $6,000,  which  amount  is  derived  from  the 
diocesan  Christmas  collection.  The  average  annual  expense  per 
child  educated,  boarded  and  clothed,  is  about  $50.  Children 
intrusted  to  this  institution  are  kept  until  a  suitable  home  can  be 
provided  for  them,  or  until  they  are  able  to  earn  their  own  liveli- 
hood. The  present  value  of  the  ground  in  connection  with  St. 
Vincent's  Orphan  asylum  is  about  $25,000,  and  the  value  of  the 


(607; 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


building,  with   its  appurtenances,  is  about  $100,000.      Rev.    B.    T. 
Borg  is  at  present  the  chaplain  of  the  institution. 

Rev.  B.  Theo.  Borg  is  a  son  of  Gerhard  and  Mary  Borg,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  a  farmer,  and  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
Rev.  BorgwasbornMarch  I,  1836,  in  Hanover,  Germany,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  May,  1857,  attended  St.  Vincent  school,  near 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  studied,  also,  at  St.  Mary's  seminary,  at  Balti- 
more, beginning  the  study  of  theology  in  i860.      He  was  ordained, 
in  1868,  under  Bishop  Spalding  of   Baltimore,    and   said   his   first 
mass  June    13.   1868.      He  was  first  located  for  two  years  in  Penn- 
sylvania; was  then  placed  in  charge  of  St.  Joseph's,  at  Dyer,  Lake 
county,  Ind.,  and  then  came  to  Fort  Wayne  as  assistant  to  the 
bishop,  and  retained  this  position  three  years;  he  was  next  appointed 
assistant  priest  at  St.  Mary's  church;  then  went  to  Avilla,  Noble 
county,  Ind.,  where  he  remained  for  eight  years,   doing  effective 
work  and  was  next  selected  for  his  present  position  in  September, 
1887.      Father    Borg    has   achieved  considerable    celebrity   as  an 
educator  and  is  most  zealous  and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his 
onerous  duties. 

INDIANAPOLIS,    MARION  COUNTY. 

St.  'Vincent's  Infirmary  was  opened  in  Indianapolis,  April  27, 
1 88 1,  by  four  Sisters  of  Charity  from  Emmitsburg,  Md.,  with  Sis- 
ter Theresa   O'Connor  as  first  superioress.      The  house  first  used 
was  the  old  St.  Joseph's  seminary  at  Vermont  and  Liberty  streets. 
The  present  building,  at  South  and  Delaware  streets,  was  erected 
in  1887  at  a  cost  of  $108.  coo.      It  is  is  a  large,  handsome  structure, 
well  lighted,  heated  by  steam,  and  modern  in  all  its  appointments. 
It  has  thirty-eight  private  rooms  and  eight  large  wards,  providing 
an  air  space  of  1,500  cubic  feet  for  each  patient,  will  easily  accom- 
modate I  50  persons,  and  is  considered  by  competent  judges  an  ideal 
hospital;  the  ventilation  is  a  special  feature  and   is  second  to  none 
in  the  country.      In   the   sixteen  years  of  its   existence  there  have 
been  cared  for  5,864  sick  or  injured;  of  these  2,762  were  paid  for, 
full  price;  1,185  were   under  price  or   paid  for  in  part,  while  1,917 
were  cared  for  entirely  free  of  all  charge,  averaging  a  little  over 


(608) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

one  month  for  each  free   patient.      There    is  a  training  school   for 
nurses  in  connection  with  the  hospital. 

LAI-AVETli;,     rilM'KCANOE  COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Orphan  Asylum. ^ — In  1866  the  Right  Rev.  J.  H. 
Luers,  bishop  of  Fort  Wayne,  purchased  1,100  acres  of  land  near 
Rensselaer,  in  Jasper  county,  and  built  an  orphan  asylum  for  boys 
and  girls.  When,  a  few  years  later,  the  Rev.  George  A.  Hamil- 
ton, pastor  of  St.  Mary's  church,  LaFayette,  died,  he  bequeathed 
in  his  will  about  $10,000,  in  real  estate  and  money,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  establishing  a  manual  labor  school  in  the  vicinity  of  LaFay- 
ette  for  orphan  boys.  The  property  included  about  580  acres, 
situated  at  Davis  Ferry,  between  LaFayette  and  Battle  Ground. 
The  Davis  tracts  were  devised  to  Rev.  Hamilton  by  the  will  of 
William  B.  Davis,  who,  in  consequence  of  his  Indian  extraction, 
was  known  as  "  Indian  Bill."  The  project  was  further  encouraged 
by  Messrs.  Owen  Ball  and  J.  B.  Falley,  who  donated  fifty-one 
acres  of  land  south  of  LaFayette, and  on  the  latter  tract  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Dwenger,  in  1875,  began  to  build. 

The  asylum  building  is  situated  over  Fourth  street  hill,  just 
across  Durgee's  run,  on  a  commanding  eminence  reached  by  a 
gracefully  winding  road.  It  is  built  of  brick  with  stone  trimmings, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  imposing  of  the  many  educational  buildings 
throughout  the  country.  It  covers  121  feet  of  ground  in  length 
and  113  in  breadth,  and  is  four  stories  high,  with  a  deep  basement 
under  every  part  of  the  house.  It  is  surmounted  by  a  tower 
seventy-five  feet  high,  from  the  top  of  which  a  fine  view  of  the 
surrounding  country  and  part  of  the  city  streets  greets  the  vision. 
The  cost  of  the  building  was  $33,000. 

The  formal  openmg  of  the  asylum  took  place  in  .April,  1876, 
the  occasion  being  observed  by  appropriate  ceremonies.  The  first 
step  thereafter  was  to  part  the  boys  from  the  girls  at  Rensselaer 
and  bring  them  here.  Thus  the  school  opened  with  thirty-one 
boys,  presided  over  by  Rev.  B.  Hartmann  and  seven  Sisters,  who 
did  the  work  about  the  house. 

After  the  formal  opening  of  the  asylum  the  Brothers  and  Sis- 
ters of  the  Holy  Cross  from  Notre  Dame.  Ind..  took  charge  of  the 

3^  ~(609) 


A   HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

educational  and  domestic  departments.  When  the  latter  were 
recalled  in  1894,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  from  the  mother-house 
in  LaFayette  took  charge.  There  are  two  school  rooms,  one  a 
kindergarten,  and  the  other  for  the  more  advanced  pupils.  They 
are  taught  all  the  branches  of  a  good  education,  after  which  they 
pass  to  the  manual  labor  department  in  the  house  or  on  the  farm. 

The  spacious  dormitories  are  located  in  the  third  and  fourth 
stories.  The  whole  building  is  thoroughly  warmed  in  winter  by 
steam.  The  kitchen  contains  a  large  range  and  all  necessary 
appliances  for  the  successful  exercise  of  the  culinary  art.  The 
dairy  is  kept  replenished  by  a  number  of  fine  cows,  the  pick  of 
those  kept  at  the  farm  near  Davis  Ferry. 

The  institution  is  governed  by  a  board  of  directors,  of  which 
the  right  reverend  bishop  of  the  diocese  is  president.  The  number 
of  children  in  the  asylum  in  1898  was  150.  There  are  no  other 
funds  available  for  the  support  of  the  orphans  but  what  are 
derived  from  the  cultivation  of  the  farm  and  from  the  annual  collec- 
tion in  the  churches  throughout  the  diocese.  After  1880,  the  Rev. 
John  H.  Guendling  was  the  director  of  the  asylum,  until 
appointed  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  July  20,  1898,  and  of 
this  reverend  gentleman  more  may  be  read  in  his   personal    sketch 

in  Vol.  II. 

He  was  succeeded  at  St.  Joseph's  Orphan  asylum,  at  LaFay- 
ette, by  his  brother.  Rev.  Charles  B.  Guendling,  late  secretary  and 
chancellor  of  Bishop  Rademacher.  Announcing  his  appointment 
to  the  directorship  of  that  institution,  the  Fort  Wayne  Journal 
remarked: 

No  clergyman  of  any  church  has  left  a  Fort  Wayne  pastorate  with  deeper 
regrets  on  the  ])art  of  parishioners  and  friends  than  the  Rev.  Charles  B.  Guend- 
ling, who  will  preach  his  farewell  sermon  at  high  mass  this  morning.  Father 
Guendling  will  be  missed  by  many  of  all  creeds,  for  he  has  impressed  himself  as  a 
faithful  minister  of  God  and  at  the  same  time  as  a  genial,  courteous  and  cultured 
gentleman.  Father  Guendling  is  a  younger  brother  of  the  vicar-general.  He  was 
born  in  Peru  in  1868,  and  early  in  life  determined  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
brothers.  Completing  the  course  prescribed  in  the  parochical  s  hools  of  his  native 
town,  he  entered  St.  Francis  seminary,  Milwaukee,  in  1882,  and  after  finishing  the 
classical  course,  went  to  Rome  to  study  theology.  He  was  ordained  in  1892,  by 
Cardinal  Parocchi,  in  the  church  of  St.  John  Lateran,  Rome,  and  in  July  of  that 
year  came  to  Fort  Wayne.     He  has  been  stationed  at  the  cathedral  since  that  date. 

(pToT 


IN    THE    STATE    OI"    INDIANA. 

i'atlier  Gia-ndliiiL;  enjoys  tlu' rc|)iil;itii)ii  1)1  hciiiu  (inc  ol  the  liiicst  pulpit  s|)<.'ak(TS 
in  the  city,  C()nil)ininjjj  with  a  natural  gill  ol  ciixiuriH  (.•  a  mind  deeply  versed  in 
sacred  and  profane  learning.  Personally  affal)lc,  kindly,  generous  of  heart,  and 
]-)OSsessing  a  fund  of  humor  inexhaustible,  feather  Guendling  won  for  himself  a 
place  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  him.  His  departure  is  regretted,  but  the  best 
wishes  of  all  will  follow  him  to  his  new  hi-ld  of  labor.  Father  (iuendling  possesses 
business  abilities  of  a  high  order,  and  his  services  in  the  resptjnsible  position 
assigned  him,  as  head  of  a  great  institution,  will  prove  valuable. 

St.  Elizabeth  Hospital. — Six  Sisters  of  the  order  of  St.  Fran- 
cis left  their  native  country  and  convent  home  at  Olpe,  Westphalia^ 
and  arrived  in  the  United  States  on  December  12,  1875.  Of 
these,  Sister  Clara,  superioress,  Sister  Bonaventure  and  Sister 
Agatha  have  gone  to  their  eternal  reward.  Of  the  surviving  Sis- 
ters, Mother  Alphonsa  is  at  present  provincial  superioress  for  the 
United  States,  Sister  Augustina  is  superioress  at  Grand  Island, 
Nebr. ,  and  Sister  Rose  directress  of  St.  Boniface  school  in  LaFay- 
ette,  Ind..  where  they  settled  upon  the  invitation  of  the  late  Rt.. 
Rev.   Bishop  Dwenger,  of  Fort  Wayne,  soon  after  their  arrival. 

Unknown  and  without  means  they  began  their  work  of  charity,, 
and  for  this  purpose  rented  an  unoccupied  building  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  St.  Boniface's  church,  which  served   them    for  a  dwelling 
and  hospital  until  October,   1876.      The  first  helping  hand  was  ex- 
tended to  them  by  the  late  Albert  Wagner,  who  donated   to  them 
two  vacant  lots  on   Hartford   and    Fourteenth    streets.      On    these 
was  erected  the  first   of  the  present  block    of    buildings    in    1876. 
The  efforts  of  the   Sisters  on   behalf  of  the  sick  and    unfortunate 
were  soon  appreciated,  and  in  the  course  of  time  accommodations 
were  added  to  the  hospital  proper  and   to  the  Sisters'  dwelling  as 
necessity  demanded  and  as  the  means  were  obtained.      The   east 
wing  was  built  in  1880,  the  west  wing,  together    with    the  chapel, 
in  1883.      But  still  there  was  want  of  room,  so  that  a  new  hospital 
became,  in  the  course  of  time,  an  absolute  necessity,  and,  relying 
on  the  assistance  of  benefactors,  the  Sisters  resolved  to  build. 

In  February,  1896,  the  contract  was  let  and  work  progressed 
without  interruption  or  accident  until  the  building  was  complete  in 
all  its  details.  The  new  hospital  fronts  on  Fourteenth  street  and 
connects  with  the  buildings  on  Hartford  street.  It  is  150  feet  long 
and   forty-six  wide,  with  verandas  on  the  east  side  to  every  story. 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Three  stories  of  brick  with  turret  surmounting  the  center  gable  rise 
over  a  high  basement  of  freestone.      Terra  cotta  and   sand  stone 
trimmings  are  notable  features  in  the  ornamentation  of  the  front, 
which  terminates  at  either  end  in  a  semi-sexagon.      The  interior  is 
arranged  more  with  a  view  to  comfort  than  elegance,  yet  it  presents 
a  most  pleasing  appearance.      From  basement  to  attic  the  building 
is  divided  in  the  center  by  broad  corridors  running  the  entire  length 
from  north  to  south.      On  either  side  of  the  corridors  are  arranged 
wards  and  private  rooms  for  the  sick.      The  kitchen  occupies  the 
north  end  of  the  basement,  and  serving  rooms  are  arranged  on  each 
l^oor.      The  operating  room,  with  tiled  floor,  marble  wash-stands, 
etc.,  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  second  floor,  is  large  and  well 
equipped  for  its  purpose.      The  hospital  has  all  the  latest  improve- 
ments, such  as  electric  bells,  speaking  tubes,  dumb-waiters,  steam 
heating,  etc.,  and   is  complete  and  modern   throughout.      An  ele- 
vator, operated  by  a  water  motor,  makes  access  to  each  floor  easy. 
The    plans  were  drawn  by  Bro.  Adrian,  of   the   Franciscan   order. 
St.  Louis,  Mo.      The  hospital   was  dedicated  on  January  6,  1897, 
by  the  Rt.  Rev.   Joseph  Rademacher,  bishop  of  Fort  Wayne. 

The  new  hospital  became  an  absolute  necessity  on  account  of 
the  great  number  of  patients   applying   for   admission.      With  the 
growth  of  LaFayette  applications  of  destitute  sick  persons  became 
very  numerous;   for   it   must  be    borne    in    mind    that    the   Sisters, 
desirous  of  doing    "the  greatest  good    to   the  greatest   number," 
receive  patients  without  distinction  as  to  creed,    nationality,    race 
or  sex,  and  without  regard  to  the  ability  of  paying  fees.      The  same 
is  true  when  the  Sisters  are  called  to  nurse  patients  at  their  homes; 
they  exact  no  remuneration,  but  of  course  expect  to  meet  with  the 
regard  due   to    their   character   as    ladies    and    religious    workers. 
They  eschew  controversies  on  religious  topics,  but  reply  to  candid 
inquiries,  and  do  not  hesitate  to  advise  Catholics  to  attend  to  their 
spiritual   duties   in   case   of   dangerous  illness.      When  patients  are 
not  Catholics  the  Sisters  ask  if  they  wish  to  see  their  own   clergy- 
man, and  send  for  him  when  requested.      Attempts  at  proselytism 
are  not  countenanced. 

The  convent  of  St.    Francis,   connected  with   St.    Elizabeth's 
hospital,    and  occupying  the  older  buildings  fronting  on  Hartford 

(612) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

street,  is  the  mother-house  of  the  Sisters  of  this  coiiiiiniiiity  in  the 
United  States,  aiul  the  jilace  of  the  novitiate  or  training  school. 

From  six  members  in  1875,  the  cominimity  has  ^rown  to 
about  400,  who  have  charge  of  hospitals  and  schools,  outside  of 
LaFayette,  viz:  In  Cleveland,  O. ;  Terre  Haute,  Ind.  ;  Logansport, 
Ind. ;  Memphis,  Tenn. ;  Emporia,  Kan.;  Omaha,  Neb.;  Columbus, 
Neb.;  Humphrey,  Neb.;  Denver  and  Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 
Four  classes  of  St.  Boniface's  school,  LaFayette,  were  most  suc- 
cessfully conducted  by  the  Sisters  from  soon  after  their  arrival 
here.  They  also  give  lessons  in  music,  fancy  and  plain  needle 
work,  etc.,  in  their  modest,  but  comfortable  dwelling,  on  the  corner 
of  Tenth  and  Ferry  streets. 

The  new  hospital,  with  furniture,  etc.,  represents  a  cost  of 
over  $50,000.  With  alms  collected  from  door  to  door,  the  Sisters 
undertook  its  construction.  There  was  a  generous  response  from 
the  citizens  of  LaFayette  when  the  sisters  called  on  them,  and 
private  rooms  were  furnished  by  a  number  of  them.  At  a  fair 
held  for  the  benefit  of  the  hospital  in  February,  1897,  societies, 
business  men  and  citizens  generally  without  distinction  of  creed 
co-operated  liberally,  so  that  the  sum  of  $3,300  was  realized;  yet 
there  remains  to  be  paid  the  greater  part  of  the  debt  incurred  by 
the  building  of  the  hospital,  and  the  Sisters  are  confident  that  they 
will  not  be  left  to  struggle  alone  with  the  burden  assumed  in  its 
erection. 

St.  Anthony's  Home  for  Aged  Poor. — After  considering  the 
project  of  establishing  a  home  for  the  aged  poor  in  LaFayette  for 
some  time,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  in  charge  of  St.  Elizabeth's 
hospital  in  that  city,  purchased,  in  the  fall  of  1897,  an  eligible  site 
with  a  house  and  the  necessary  out-buildings,  together  with  about 
twenty  acres  of  land  in  a  retired  part  of  the  city.  There  is  no 
place  in  the  vicinity  of  LaFayette  better  suited  for  such  an  institu- 
tion. A  large  and  beautiful  grove  adjoins  the  property,  the  sur- 
rounding are  healthy,  and  the  home  will  be  removed  from  the  din 
and  bustle  of  the  city,  making  a  quiet  place  for  aged  people  to 
spend  their  declining  years.  All  old  people  now  inmates  of  St. 
Elizabeth's  hospital,  will  be  removed  to  the  new   home  when  it  is 

(ul3) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

ready  for  occupancy,  and  all  who  hereafter  apply  to  the  hospital 
to  be  cared  for  during  life,  will  be  sent  to  the  new  institution, 
which  will  be  known  as  St.  Anthony's  home. 

LOGANSPORT,     CASS    COUNTY. 

St.  Joseph's  Hospital  at  Logansport  was  established  in  1893 
by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  of  Lafayette,  of  the  Third  order 
of  St.  Francis  of  the  Prepetual  Adoration.  St,  Joseph's  hospital, 
pital,  like  all  other  Catholic  institutions  of  like  character,  extends 
its  care  and  treatment  to  all  people  desiring  its  aid,  irrespec- 
tive of  race,  nationality,  sex  or  religion,  and  is  pleasantly  situ- 
ated on  the  south  bank  of  the  Wabash  river,  within  easy  access  of 
the  city,  its  lands  comprising  ten  acres. 

The  hospital  was  opened  to  its  first  patient  October  3,  1893, 
and  from  that  time  on  it  continued  in  its  good  work  and  became 
so  popular  with  the  general  public  that  in  1896  it  became  necessary 
to  increase  its  accommodations  and  an  additional  wing  was  joined 
to  the  original  building,  so  that  it  now  has  ample  capacity  for  the 
treatment  of  twenty-five  patients.  The  institution  is  in  charge  of 
eight  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  who  are  employed  as  nurses  and  in 
attending  to  the  other  duties  that  devolve  upon  attaches  of  institu- 
tions of  this  nature,  and  at  the  head  of  these  is  Sister  Mahala 
Adriana,  who  has  been  indefatigable  in  the  discharge  of  her  chari- 
table duties  since  the  opening  of  the  hospital.  St.  Joseph's  has, 
indeed,  proved  a  blessing  to  the  citizens  of  Logansport,  as  well  as 
to  the  journeying  stranger  or  the  sojourner,  to  whom  any  accident 
may  befall,  or  who  may  be  seized  with  illness  while  away  from 
home  and  friends,  as  its  doors  are  open  to  all. 

TERRK  HAUTE,  VICO  COUNTY. 

St.  Ann's  Providence  Orphan  Asylum,  Terre  Haute,  begun  by 
Bishop  Bazin,  at  Vincennes,  in  1848,  and  fostered  by  the  Sisters 
of  Providence,  was  removed  to  Terre  Haute  in  1876.  It  took  its 
present  name  after  its  removal.  It  is  for  girls  only,  of  whom  there 
are  ninety  at  present  in  the  institution.  Twelve  Sisters  of  Provi- 
dence have  charge  of  the  asylum,  and  its  excellent  management  is 
most  creditable  to  them.      The  building  is  spacious  and   is  conve- 


IN    THK    STAT1-:    OI'    INDIANA. 

niently  located,  in  that  it  is  removed  from  the  busy  center  of  the 
city.  It  is  worth  $40,000.  Kev.  John  Kyves,  the  pastor  of  St. 
Ann's  church,  i.s  also  chaplain  of  the  asylum. 

VINCENNKS,     KNO.X    COUXTV. 

St.  Vincent's  Orphana;?^e.— The  asylum  for  Catholic  orphan 
boys,  at  Vincennes,  known  as  St.  Vincent's,  was  opened  in  April, 
185  I,  in  the  college  building,  but  some  years  later  was  removed  by 
Bishop  de  St.  Palais  to  the  rural  site  it  now  occupies  at  Highland, 
three  miles  from  the  crowded  city,  the  property  having  been  pur- 
chased by  the  late  Bishop  Hailandiere.  The  institution  is  under 
the  charge  of  twelve  Sisters  of  Providence,  with  Sister  M.  Theo- 
dore as  superior,  and  the  number  of  orphan  inmates  is  about  i  13. 
Rev.  George  Steigerwald  is  the  chaplain,  and  the  little  unfortunates 
are  made  as  happy  under  the  tender  care  of  the  kind  Sisters  as  if 
they  had  never  been  deprived  of  their  natural  guardians. 


\';15) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

CATHOLIC     SODALITIES     AND    FRATERNAL     ORGANIZATIONS ANCIENT 

ORDER    OF     HIBERNIANS CATHOLIC      KNIGHTS      OF     AMERICA 

AMERICAN      SONS       OF        COLUMBUS  —  CATHOLIC        BENEVOLENT 
LEGION  —  YOUNG    MEN'S    INSTITUTE. 

THE  ties  of  brotherhood,  in  the  sense  of  the  word  which  embraces 
the  whole  human  race,  are  well  known  to  be  remarkably 
strong  with  the  laity,  as  well  as  the  clergy,  of  the  Catholic  church, 
and  from  this  fraternal  feeling  have  sprung  some  of  the  noblest 
institutions  designed  to  unite  men  together  for  common  benefits, 
for  aid  and  for  protection,  that  exist  anywhere  in  the  world,  and  in 
the  histories  of  the  sodalities  and  orders  given  below  will  be  found 
a  record  of  the  peculiar  objects  for  which  the  societies  named  have 
been  organized. 

THE    ANCIENT    ORDER    OF    HIBERNIANS. 

The  origin  and  early  history  of  this  organization,  in  Ireland, 
is  vague  and  uncertain,  and,  for  the  most  part,  traditional.  The 
first  that  is  authentically  known  of  the  order  is  of  its  existence  and 
labors  during  the  persecutions  of  the  Catholics  under  the  penal 
laws,  though  a  tradition  places  its  origin  in  the  eleventh  century, 
when  it  was  founded  by  Harmonia,  a  son  of  Prince  Tours,  of  the 
county  of  Fermanagh.  He  was  the  counselor  of  his  father,  and 
whenever  any  dissensions  arose  between  the  higher  and  lower 
classes  he  always  took  the  side  of  the  peasantry  as  against  the 
aristocracy,  and  success  always  attended  his  efforts.  At  length  his 
father  banished  him,  and  he  repaired  to  the  borders  of  Cavan  and 
Meath,  where  he  established  himself  and  created  the  order,  the 
member.s  calling  themselves  Knights  of  St.  Patrick  and  Knights  of 
the  Shamrock  Plume,  in  honor  of  the  plume  which   Harmonia  on 


I\    Till-:    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


all  occasions  wore  in  his  cap.  The  Hibernian  motto,  iMiendship, 
Unity  and  Christian  Charity,  was  as  applicable  in  those  primitive 
days  as  at  present,  for  it  is  said  of  them  that  their  mission  was  to 
right  the  wrongs  of  the  people  and  do  good  for  all.  During  the 
life  of  Harmonia,  he  seems  to  have  been  the  sole  leader,  for  after 
his  death  it  is  said  that  each  county  had  a  branch  of  its  own.  but 
all  were  united  in  a  national  organization  under  the  leadership  <jf 
a  priest  named  Father  Godfrey. 

Many  conflicting  stories  of  its  origin  exist,  one  being  that  the 
order  was  instituted  by  two  women  after  the  siege  of  Limerick,  but 
this  is  undoubtedly  wrong,  as  evidence  of  its  existence  during  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth  was  not  wanting,  as  many  deeds  of  their  charity 
and  valor  during  those  troublous  times  have  been  handed  down  in 
song  and  story.  The  lack  of  written  evidence  concerning  the  order 
can  be  attributed  to  two  causes:  The  opposition  of  the  govern- 
ment, which  always  opposed  every  organization  of  the  Irish  Cath- 
olics, and  the  enforced  illiteracy  of  the  people  under  the  barbarous 
penal  code  which  made  it  a  felony  for  an  Irish  Catholic  either  to 
give  or  receive  an  education.  Parents  were  not  allowed  to  instruct 
their  own  children    nor  even   send   them   to  another  cour.try  to  be 

instructed. 

Under  this  same  inhuman  system  the  national  language  was 
forbidden  and  our  holy  faith  was  assaulted  in  every  conceivable 
way.  Its  death  was  savagely  determined  upon.  The  celebration 
of  the  mass  was  made  treason;  the  celebrant  an  outlaw;  the  par- 
ticipants felons.  Those  were  the  days  when  to  be  a  Hibernian 
was  to  be  ready  at  any  time  to  become  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of 
church  and  country.  The  leaders  at  this  time  were  Roger  O'Brien 
and  Redmond  O'Conner,  the  latter  of  whom  organized  a  branch  of 
the  order  in  the  very  heart  of  London,  within  a  mile  of  Hampton 
court.  In  those  times  of  hatred,  bigotry  and  oppression,  when  the 
holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass  had  to  be  offered  on  some  wild,  lonely 
mountain,  or  in  some  secluded  glen  or  dark  cavern,  away  from  the 
haunts  of  men,  it  was  the  oath-bound  members  of  this  organization 
who  were  placed  on  guard  to  protect  the  noble  priest,  who.  at  the 
risk  of  his  life,  officiated  at  the  divine  service  and  administered  the 
sacraments  to  the  faithful.      The  sign  of  the  order  was  passed  from 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

hilltop  to  hilltop,  as  a  signal  of  danger,  at  the  approach  of  the  red- 
coats, thus  constituting  themselves  the  protectors  and  defenders  of 
the  church  and  the  promoters  of   her  welfare.      These   being  their 
principles,  it  is  incredible  that  the}' could  have  degenerated,  as  some 
suppose,  into   the  Ribbon-men,  White-boys,  Rapparrees,  or  other 
lawless  organizations  denounced  by  the  church,  and  whose  objects 
seem   to  have  been  only  to   gain  temporary  advantages   or  wreak 
vengeance.      These  societies,  too,  though  they  existed  throughout 
Ireland,  seemed  to  have  no  national  organization  or  fixed  principles, 
as  the  Knights  of  St.  Patrick,  the  progenitors  of  the   Hibernians, 
had.      Each  locality  seemed  to  have  had  a  different  object,  and  each 
individual  leader  a  miotive  of  his  own.      In  some  localities  political 
ideas  were  the  foundation   principles;   in   others,  affairs  of  a  social 
or  personal   nature  were    the    only  things  considered,  while  yet   in 
others  defense  against  wrong  or  protection   of  the  weak  were  the 
noble  objects,  while  in  the  north  of  Ireland  acts  of  violence  against 
the  hated  Orangemen  were  often  the  fruits  of  the  organization.      In 
Leinster   these  organizations   took    the   form   of  trades  unions  and 
interfered  with  the  free  employment  of  labor.      It  was  an   offshoot 
of  this  last  that  was  transplanted  and   took    root   m   Pennsylvania 
during   the   middle   of   this   century  and    was   known   as  the  Mollie 
Maguires.      It  was  said  at  the  time  of  their  hateful  existence  that 
they  were  Hibernians,  but  that  noble  order  disclaimed  any  connec- 
tion with  them  whatever.      In  1838    the   Hibernians  of  Liverpool. 
England,  were  asked  to   join  the  Ribbon-men  under  the  leadership 
of  Richard  Jones,  for  the  freedom  of  Ireland.      This  would  indicate 
that  the  two  societies  were   entirely  distinct    from   each  other.      It 
may  be  true,  and  doubtless  is,  that  many  members  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of   Hibernians   also   belonged   to  the   Ribbon-men,  but  that 
they    were    the    same    organization,    or  that    their   purposes  were 
identical,  was  not  a  fact. 

The  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  was  first  organized  in  the 
United  States  at  Philadelphia,  by  Matthew  Carey,  in  1793.  There 
had  been  a  yellow-fever  epidemic  in  that  city,  and  Carey  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  health,  and  in  order  to  assist  in  the  most 
effective  manner  in  caring  for  the  sick,  he  organized  the  Hibernian 
society,  and  its  members  at  once  entered  into  the  work  of  charity 

WW 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


and  relief.  Tliis  again  demonstrates  the  purposes  for  which  the 
fraternity  was  originally  founded.  During  all  the  dark  hours  of 
that  fever-stricken  City  of  Brotherly  Love,  the  faithful  members 
of  this  benevolent  association  administered  to  the  physical  and 
financial  needs  of  all  sufferers,  no  matter  what  their  race  or  creed. 
Their  noble  exan)ple  was  followed  by  the  "  Friendly  Sons  of  St. 
Patrick,"  whose  members,  unlike  the  Hibernians,  were  not  neces- 
sarily Catholics. 

The  Ancient  Order  of   Hibernians   grew  rapidly   in    Philadel- 
phia and  spread  to  surrounding  cities,  and   it  was  not   long  before 
its  power  for  good   was   felt   and   appreciated  by  both  church  and 
members.      It  was  soon   organized    m   the  cities  of  New  York  and 
Boston.      At  first  they  had  no  supreme  officers,  but  were  merely  a 
loose  confederation  of  local  branches.      In  1836  it  was  more  thor- 
oughly established  in    New   York  and   its   propagation  there    made 
such  strides  that    for   many  years   the   headquarters   were    in    that 
city,  and  the  constitution  was  so  framed  that  all  the  national  meet- 
ings were  held  there.      The  New  York   members  were  accused   of 
using  the  order  to  subserve  political  ends,  and  in  1877,  at  the  last 
national  convention  held  in   that  city,  it  was    voted    that   the   next 
convention  should  be  held  in  Boston  in  1878.      This  had  a  purify- 
ing effect,  and  the  society  has  ever   since    been  rapidly  advancing. 
Cincinnati    secured    the    convention    in     1879,    and    Hibernianism 
received  a  new  impetus  in  the  west.      Philadelphia,  the  city  of  its 
birth  in  America,  received   the   convention    in    1880,    St.  Louis  in 
1881  and  Chicago  in  1882,  two  western  cities  in  succession,  show- 
ing the  great  good  of  national  organization  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try.     It  was  now  decided  to   hold  the  conventions  biennially,  and 
the  next  one  was  held  in  Cleveland  in  1884.      St.  Paul  secured  the 
convention  in  1886,  Louisville  in  1888.  and  in  1890  the  east  again 
captured  it  and  took  it  to  Hartford,  Conn.,  where  it  again  slipped 
away  and  went  to  New  Orleans  in  1892.    In  1894 it  reached  its  most 
westerly  point  at  Omaha.      Here  the  immensity  of  the   order   was 
irresistably  felt,  and  National  Delegate  Wilhere,  the  supreme  offi- 
cer of  the  order,  addressed  the  assemblage  in  these  words:     "  This 
magnificent  convention  is  composed  of   the   largest  number  of  rep- 
resentative  men    of   our    race    and    creed    that    have    ever    come 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

together  on  a  like  occasion  in  America;  and  meeting  as  we  do  after 
a  long  period  of  business  and  industrial  depression,  which  unfor- 
tunately visited  our  beloved  country  as  well  as  all  parts  of  the  civ- 
ilized world,  the  large  attendance  of  delegates,  the  enthusiasm 
manifested  in  our  work  and  the  evidence  of  the  growth  and  healthy 
progress  of  our  noble  order,  truly  furnish  us  reason  for  warm,  sin- 
cere and  heartfelt  congratulations." 

In  Mr.  Wilhere's  report  at  this  convention  he  shows  the 
remarkable  progress  which  the  order  had  made  during  the  previous 
eight  years,  which  is  as  follows:  "  In  1886  the  number  of  states 
and  territories  organized  was  thirty-one;  the  number  of  divisions 
in  good  standing  was  S05,  and  the,  number  of  members  43,000. 
After  eight  years  we  now  have  forty-nine  states,  territories  and 
provinces  and  the  District  of  Columbia  organized;  the  number  of 
divisions  reported  is  1,206  and  the  reported  membership  is  93.878, 
with  five  states  or  territories  unreported." 

On  account  of  their  supposed   identity  with   the   Ribbon-men 
and  kindred  societies,  a  great  number  of   the  clergy  were  antago- 
nistical  to  the  Hibernians  and  opposed  their  organization  in  certain 
localities;  but  gradually  their  good   work   asserted    itself   and   the 
attitude  of  the  church  began  to  change.      On  the  occasion  of  the 
meeting  of  the   archbishops   of  the   United  States,  in  November, 
1886.  for  considering  the  relations  of  the  church  to  various  socie- 
ties in  this  country.  Cardinal  Gibbons  made  a  personal  examination 
of  the  Ancient  Order  of    Hibernians  and   reported  that  "he  saw 
nothing  objectionable   in   the    organization,  but    saw    a    greai    deal 
that  was  meritorious  and  commendable;"  and   at   the   conference 
held  by  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  the  archbishops  of  the  United  States 
in  October,   1894,    at   Philadelphia,   they,  after  carefully  studying 
the  character,  principles  and   history   of  this   noble   order,    unan- 
imously declared  it  to   be   "a   most   admirable  society."     There 
are  at  present  a  great  many  priests  and  several  bishops  enrolled  as 
members,  who  take  an  active    and  leading  part  in  the  society    pro- 
ceedings,  and  church  and  order  move  along  in   perfect  .friendship 

and  harmony. 

At   the    Omaha   convention    a   ladies'  branch  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Hibernians,  known  as  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary,  was  instituted 


IN    THE    STATK    Ol-     INDIANA. 

to  assist  in  the  benevolent  work,  to  promote  social  relations  and 
advance  the  interests  of  the  order.  At  that  time  was  adopted  a 
crude  constitution,  which  has  since  been  perfected,  and  this  branch 
of  the  society  has  met  with  surprising  success,  both  as  to  numbers 
and  efforts  for  good.  Many  thousands  of  the  best  and  noblest 
ladies  in  the  United  States  have  affiliated  themselves  with  this 
organization  and  the  good  they  have  done  is  incalculable.  Beside 
their  charitable  and  benevolent  work  they,  in  some  instances,  have 
accomplished  a  great  deal  in  the  way  of  elevating  and  educating 
themselves  by  giving  literature  and  music  a  place  in  their  meetings. 
The  national  convention  <>{  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians, 
of  1896,  was  held  in  the  beautiful  city  of  Detroit,  and  if  the 
Omaha  convention  was  "  magnificent."  this  one  exceeded  it.  The 
national  chaplain.  Bishop  Foley  of  that  city,  welcomed  and 
received  his  society  brethren  with  true  Irish  warm-heartedness, 
and  the  blessing  which  he  gave  their  deliberations  was  not  without 
fruit,  for  the  proceedings  throughout  were  marked  with  mtelli- 
gence,  industry  and  harmony,  while  the  visiting  delegates  and  their 
accompanying  friends  were  delightfully  entertained  by  the  gener- 
ous and  cultured  citizens.  At  this  convention  the  national  officers 
and  the  national  chaplain  having  in  charge  the  fund  authorized  by 
the  Omaha  convention  to  be  collected  for  the  endowment  of  the 
Gaelic  chair  in  the  new  Catholic  university,  at  Washington,  made 
their  report,  showing  that  but  a  small  amount  of  the  $50,000 
which  had  been  promised  remained  uncollected,  and  that  amount 
the  convention  ordered,  should  be  paid  out  of  the  national  treas- 
ury, thus  making  a  permanent  fund  for  the  teaching,  in  that  great 
institution,  of  the  Irish  language,  history  and  literature.  And 
what  a  history!  and  what  a  literature!  Here  may  be  learned  the 
songs  of  the  ancient  bards,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  Brehons.  Dr. 
Thomas  J.  Shahan,  D.  D. ,  of  the  Catholic  university  of  Washing- 
ton, said,  in  speaking  of  this  action:  "When  the  annals  of  the 
decline  and  fall  of  the  cruel  British  imperialism  of  former  days 
shall  have  been  written  by  some  Gaelic  Gibbon  of  the  future, 
when  we  take  up  again  the  Irish  annals  where  the  wearied  hands 
of  the  Four  Masters  dropped  the  pen,  the  name  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of   Hibernians  will  be  emblazoned  upon  one  of   their  bright- 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

est  pages.  What  a  mighty  spectacle,  for  the  world,  of  the  power 
of  Gaelic  endurance,  and  the  mighty  strength  that  slumbers  in 
organized  manhood,  when  it  flashed  across  the  wires  that  over 
100,000  men  of  Irish  blood  have  decreed  that  their  mother-tongue 
shall  live,  and  live,  too,  in  their  midst,  a  well-spring  to  all  time  of 
the  holiest  and  highest  suggestions  for  mankind." 

The  national  convention  of  1898  was  held  in  Trenton,  N.  J., 
the  home  of  Right  Reverend  Bishop  McFaul,  through  whose  medi- 
ation the  two  branches  of  the  order  were  reunited,  a  division  in  the 
ranks  having  existed  since  the  Cleveland  convention  in  1884,  when 
a  small  per  centage  of  the  members  seceded  from  the  main  body 
and  formed  a  separate  organization.  The  reason  for  the  separa- 
tion at  the  Cleveland  convention  in  1884  was  on  account  of  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution,  admitting  members  to  the  order 
who  were  Irish,  or  of  Irish  descent  through  either  parent,  instead  of 
both,  as  the  constitution  had  been  prior  to  that  convention. 

This  reunited  convention,  as  might  be  expected,  was  the 
largest  ever  held,  and  the  principal  labor  performed  at  this  great 
meeting  was  the  revision  of  the  constitution  on  lines  agreeable  to 
the  reunited  order.  This  constitution  provided  for  a  national 
organization  of  the  Ladies'  auxilary,  which  had,  up  to  this  time, 
been  dependent  upon  the  national  organization  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Hibernians.  But  the  constitution  of  the  auxiliary  is  to 
be  adopted  by  this  order.  It  also  provided  for  national,  state 
and  county  chaplains  of  the  order,  and  for  the  organization  of  a 
military  branch,  its  companies  to  be  known  as  Hibernian  Rifles  or 
Hibernian  Knights. 

The  officers  governing  this  organization  are  a  national  presi- 
dent, vice-president,  secretary,  treasurer,  chaplain,  a  directory 
consisting  of  four  members,  and  the  national  vice-president.  The 
present  national  ofBcers  are:  John  T.  Keating,  of  Chicago, 
national  president;  James  E.  Dolan,  of  Trenton,  vice-president; 
James  O'Sullivan,  of  Philadelphia,  secretary;  Patrick  T.  Moran,  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  treasurer,  and  P.  J.  O'Conner,  Savannah, 
Ga.,  M.  J.  Burns,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Patrick  O'Neill,  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  and  Edward  J.  Slattery,  Massachusetts,  are  the  directors. 
This  order  is  pledged  in  its  constitution  to  the  cause  of  chruch 

(622F 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

and  country,  and  to  exercise  at  all  times  its  inHuence  in  the  inter- 
ests of  right  and  justice.  The  motto  of  the  order  is  Friendship, 
Unity  and  Christian  Charity.  By  Friendship,  the  Hibernians  are 
taught  to  regard  all  their  members  as  one  family;  to  aid  each  other 
in  sickness  and  distress;  to  soothe  the  unhappy,  to  sympathize 
with  their  misfortunes,  to  compassionate  their  miseries;  to  restore 
peace  to  their  troubled  minds  and  to  elevate  their  people;  by  Unity, 
in  combining  together  for  mutual  support  in  sickness  and  distress 
and  accomplishing  the  purposes  of  the  order;  by  Christian  Charity, 
in  loving  one  another  and  doing  unto  all  men  as  we  would  wish 
them  to  do  unto  us. 

Conventions  of  the  order  are  held  biennially.  The  national, 
on  the  second  Tuesday  in  May,  at  twelve  o'clock  noon.  The  rep- 
resentatives eligible  to  seats  in  the  national  convention  are,  the 
national  officers  and  directors,  the  state  president,  secretary  and 
treasurer,  a  county  president  from  each  county,  together  with  an 
additional  member  in  each  county  for  every  i,ooo  members  in 
good  standing,  over  and  above  the  first  i,ooo;  and  the  colonel  of 
each  regiment. 

The  state  conventions  are  held  within  forty  days  after  the 
adjournment  of  the  national  convention,  and  the  following  officers 
are  eligible  to  seats:  The  state  officers,  county  presidents,  the 
five  officers  of  each  division,  the  colonel  of  each  regiment  and  the 
captain  of  each  military  company.  The  state  convention  may 
limit  the  representation  from  each  division  to  no  less  than  one  of 
the  five  division  officers. 

The  county  convention  is  held  within  forty  days  after  the 
adjournment  of  the  national  convention  and  after  the  state  con- 
vention, and  the  following  officers  are  eligible  to  seats:  The  count}' 
president,  the  five  officers  of  each  division,  and  the  captain  of 
each  military  company. 

The  weekly  benefits  in  case  of  sickness  or  disability  of  a  mem- 
ber shall  not  be  less  than  $5  per  week,  but  shall  be  limited  to  thir- 
teen weeks  during  any  one  year.  On  the  death  of  a  member,  a 
sum  not  less  than  $50  shall  be  appropriated  to  defray  funeral 
expenses. 

Each  division   shall  have  an   employment  committee,  whose 

~(623) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

duty  it  shall  be  to  assist  all  worthy  brothers  in  securing  employ- 
ment, and  render  the  unemployed  members  such  assistance  as  may 
be  in  their  power. 

In  some  states  the  insurance  feature  of  the  order  has  been  a 
great  success,  but  Indiana  has  never  been  able,  thus  far,  to  sue- 
cessfuUy  maintian  this  department. 

The  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  is  a  secret   organization   in 
that  it  has  signs  and  passwords  by  which  members  in  good  standing 
are  able   to  recognize   one  another,  and   the   ritual  of  the  order  is 
approved  by  the  clergy  and  may  at  any  time  be  inspected  by  them. 
The  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  was  first  organized  in  Indi- 
ana, as  far  as  can  be  definitely   ascertained,  at   Knightsville,  Clay 
county,  in  1871,  under   the  authority  of   Capt.  Kennedy,  of   Pitts- 
burg,  by    Thomas   McGovern,    who  was   the   first  state  delegate. 
Charles  Sheridan  was  the  first  state  secretary,  and  John  Smith  the 
first   state  treasurer.       In   the   following  year  organizations  were 
effected    in   Marion   and  Fountain  counties,  and,  in    1873,  Putnam 
was  admitted   with   a   division   to   the    state    organization.      Vigo, 
Daviess  and  Tippecanoe  followed  the  next  year.      During  the  time 
from  1 87 1  to  1876  the  state  and  county  officers  were  in  close  touch 
with  each  other  and  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  incur  the  expense 
of  a   meeting,  consequently   no   state   convention  was   called   until 
the  latter  year,  when  they  assembled  at  Greencastle,  the   counties 
represented  being  Clay,  Putnam,  Tippecanoe,  Marion,  Daviess  and 
Vigo.      The  officers  elected  at  this  convention  were  John  J.  Burke, 
state  delegate;   M.    J.  Ward,  state  secretary,  and   Patrick   Healy, 
state  treasurer. 

Johnson  county  branch  was  organized  in  1877,  and  the  con- 
vention that  year  was  held  at  Indianapolis,  at  which  the  state  offi- 
cers elected  were:  P.  H.  McNelis,  state  delegate;  Jeremiah  Collins, 
state  secretary,  and    John  Landes,  state  treasurer. 

The  next  convention  was  held  at  Indianapolis,  where  P.  H. 
McNelis  was  re-elected  state  delegate;  John  Rail,  state  secretary, 
and  John  Landes,  state  treasurer.  Brazil  had  the  convention  in 
1879,  and  P.  H.  McNelis  was  again  re-elected  state  delegate;  P.  B. 
O'Reilly,  state  secretary,  and  Peter  Ingolsby,  state  treasurer.  The 
convention    in  1880   went  to    Madison,    where   John    Byrnes    was 

mr 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

elected  state  delegate;  William  Broderick,  state  secretary,  and  John 
Murphy,  state  treasurer,  and  in  i88i,to  Terre  Haute,  where  John 
Byrnes  was  re-elected  state  delegate;  William  Broderick,  state  sec- 
retary, and  J.  H.  Meany  chosen  for  state  secretary. 

At  the  convention  held  at  Washington,  in  1882,  it  was  decided 
to  hold  the  conventions  biennially.  The  following  officers  were 
elected:  J.  F.  O'Reilly,  state  delegate;  J.  C.  Lavelle,  state  secre- 
tary, and  Frank  Cannon,  state  treasurer.  The  first  biennial  con- 
vention was  held  at  Indianapolis  in  1884.  The  order  had  been 
slowly  but  steadily  growing,  and  more  enthusiasm  was  being  man- 
ifested at  those  state  meetings,  and  their  organization  was  becoming 
more  perfect  and  their  power  for  good  enhanced.  The  following  offi- 
cers were  elected:  J.  W.  McGreevy,state  delegate;].  H.  Meany,  state 
secretary,  and  Thomas  Kerins,  state  treasurer. 

At  the  next  convention,  which  was  held  at  Richmond  in  1886, 
the  same  officers  were  re-elected.  At  this  meeting  the  subject  of 
an  insurance  branch  in  the  order  was  discussed  and  referred  to  the 
succeeding  convention,  which  was  held  at  Evansville  in  1888.  Here 
the  insurance  feature  was  acted  upon  favorably  and  the  mutual 
plan  adopted.  According  to  the  state  delegate's  report,  the  mem- 
bership of  the  order  had  increased  450  in  the  two  years  preceding, 
the  whole  number  of  counties  in  the  state,  organized,  was  fifteen, 
and  the  number  of  divisions,  twenty.  The  officers  elected  at  this 
convention  were:  Thomas  McQuade,  state  delegate;  John  F. 
O'Reilly,  state  secretary,  and  Peter  Kline,  state  treasurer. 

The  fourth  biennial  and  fifteenth  state  convention  of  the 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  assembled  at  South  Bend  in  1890, 
where  all  the  proceedings  were  carried  on  very  harmoniously  and 
the  same  officers  were  unanimously  re-elected.  An  increase  of  168 
in  membership  during  the  last  two  years  was  reported  and  the  com- 
mittee on  the  standing  of  the  order  said  that,  after  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  the  reports  of  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  state, 
they  found  the  society  to  be  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  this 
notwithstanding  they   had    done  a   great    deal    in    the   matter   of 

charity. 

At  the  next  state  convention,  which  was  held  at  New  Albany 
in  1892,  the   state  delegate  announced  that  the  insurance  feature 

37  (625) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

had  been,  by  the  consent  of  the  members  insured,  "  abandoned.  " 
The  membership  at  this  time  was  1,183,  3-n  increase  of  257  since 
the  last  report.  The  following  state  officers  were  elected:  M.  D. 
Fansler,  state  delegate;  S.  J.  Hannagan,  state  secretary,  and  Pat- 
rick Manley,  state  treasurer.  Peru  having  been  decided  upon  as 
the  place  for  holding  the  next  state  convention,  it  was  accordingly 
held  there  in  1894,  and  according  to  State  Delegate  Fansler's 
report  it  was  the  largest  convention  of  Hibernians  ever  held  in 
Indiana.  The  increase  in  the  order's  membership  since  the  last 
convention  was  more  than  700,  with  thirty-two  counties  organized. 
The  election  resulted  in  unanimously  choosing  the  same  president 
and  secretary.  Treasurer  Manley,  on  account  of  ill-health, 
refused  to  be  a  candidate,  and  John  W.  O'Hara  was  elected  to  fill 
that  place. 

The  convention  of  1896  opened  with  gloom  in  the  beautiful 
city  of  Terre  Haute,  as  Secretary  Hannagan  convened  the  dele- 
gates, announcing  the  death  of  their  beloved  president,  Michael 
D.  Fansler.  Mr.  Fansler  was  in  life  a  brilliant  lawyer  of  Logans- 
port,  but  his  friends  or  his  charities  were  not  confined  to  the  local- 
ity of  his  residence.  His  wit,  his  geniality  and  his  sympathy 
made  him  a  favorite  wherever  he  was  known,  and  his  intelligence 
and  sincerity  placed  him  in  many  responsible  positions,  which  he 
always  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and  profit  to  those  whom  he 
served.  E.x-President  Thomas  McQuade,  was  called  to  the  chair. 
The  need  of  a  vice-president  was  now  felt,  and  the  by-laws  were 
revised  so  as  to  provide  for  one.  Among  the  resolutions  adopted 
were  one  of  respect  and  condolence  on  account  of  the  death  of 
two  worthy  and  prominent  members — Ex-State  Treasurer  Patrick 
M.  Manley  and  State  President  Michael  D.  Fansler — and  one.'of 
sympathy  for  the  struggling  Cubans,  urging  the  United  States  to 
accord  Cuba  belligerent  rights.  At  this  meeting  M.  J.  Burns. was 
elected  state  president;  B.  A.  Coll,  state  vice-president;  M.  J. 
O'Brien,  state  secretary,  and  J.  W.  O'Hara,  re-elected  state-treas- 
urer. At  the  national  convention  held  at  Detroit,  soon  after,  .M. 
J.  Burns,  was  elected  to  the  office  of  national  director,  and,  he 
having  resigned  as  state  president,  J.  W.  O'Hara  was  chosen  to 
fill  this  vacancy,  and  B.  A.  Coll  to  fill  the  office  of  state  treasurer 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

thus   made   vacant,    and   Kdward   O'Neill   was    made    state    vice- 
president. 

The  convention  of  1898  assembled  at  Fort  Wayne  on  the 
19th  of  April.  At  this  convention  the  office  of  state  vice-president 
was  abolished  in  accordance  with  the  decision  of  Bishop  McFaul, 
of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  through  whose  efforts  the  dissenting  body  of 
the  national  organization  was  reunited  to  the  main  body.  This 
decision  was  made  in  order  to  grant  representation  in  the  national 
convention,  on  an  equal  basis,  the  dissenters  not  having  the  office 
of  vice-president  in  their  state  organization. 

A  company  of  the  Hibernian  rifles  had  been  formed,  in  Fort 
Wayne,  under  the  authority  of  State  Military  Organizer  William 
J.  Walsh,  and  these  brave  young  fellows,  who  had  just  tendered 
their  services  to  the  government,  in  case  of  war  with  Spain,  which 
now  seemed  imminent,  received  the  endorsement  and  encourage- 
ment of  the  convention,  which  also  passed  resolutions  of  loyalty 
to  the  United  States  and  sympathy  for  the  Cubans. 

The  manifested  good  will  of  Bishop  Rademacher  towards  the 
convention  and  his  blessing  had  a  most  happy  effect  on  the  dele- 
gates, and  the  proceedings  were  very  pleasantly  conducted  through- 
out. The  incumbent  officers  were  re-elected,  and  Rev.  M.  J. 
Byrne,  of  Fort  Wayne,  was  chosen  the  first  state  chaplain. 

The  Ladies'  auxiliary,  which  was  first  organized  at  Terre 
Haute  just  prior  to  the  state  convention  held  there  in  1896,  has 
been  growing  steadily,  and.  under  the  wise  and  active  leadership  of 
Mrs.  P.  H.  McNelis,  the  future  promises  much. 

Indiana's  contribution  to  the  Gaelic  chair  was  $1 ,  107.  50.  The 
funds  of  the  order  are  kept  in  the  treasury  of  the  local  divisions, 
who  control  its  disbursement.  The  expenses  of  the  national  of^cers 
are  paid  by  contributions  from  the  local  divisions  for  the  pass- 
words, signs,  etc.,  which  are  issued  by  the  national  officers.  The 
expenses  of  the  state  board  are  paid  by  a  per  capita  assessment 
upon  the  members  of  the  organization  in  the  state.  The  only 
salaried  officer  on  the  state  board  is  the  state  secretary,  who 
receives  but  $50  per  year,  a  very  small  compensation  for  the 
amount  and  character  of  the  work  done  by  that  officer. 

The  qualifications   for  membership   in  the   order  are  that  the 

(62T> 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

applicant  shall  be  Irish  or  of  Irish  descent  through  either  parent;  a 
practical  Catholic,  not  less  than  eighteen,  or  over  forty-five  years 
of  age,  and  in  good  health.  Persons  over  forty-five  may  become 
honorary  members  of  the  order,  but  are  not  entitled  to  any  benefits 
for  sickness  or  death. 

The  constitution  of  the   order   makes  it  compulsory  for  mem- 
bers to   receive   holy   communion  within   the   Easter  time  of  each 

year. 

St.  Patrick's  day  is  a  national  holiday,  to  be  celebrated  as  a 
majority  of  the  county  board  may  think  proper. 

The  order  in  the  state  of  Indiana  disburses  through  its  local 
divisions  about  $12,000  per  3-ear  for  sick  benefits  and  other  chari- 
ties, and  has  on  hand  about  $12,000,  and  in  America  the  order  dis- 
burses about  $500,000  per  annum  in  charities,  and  has  money  and 
property  amounting  to  more  than  $1,000,000. 

The  order  is  incorporated  under  the  state  laws  of  Indiana  as  a 
state  organization,  and  under  the  state  laws  of  Pennsylvania  as  a 
national  organization. 

The  publishers  are  indebted  for  the  above  very  able  historical 
sketch  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  to  John  W.  O'Hara, 
state  president  of  the  order,  and  trust  it  will  be  received  in  the 
same  spirit  in  which  it  is  presented — that  of  Friendship,  Unity  and 
Christian  Charity. 

THE    CATHOLIC    KNIGHTS    OF    AMERICA. 

The  history  of  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America,  in  Indiana, 
covers  a  period  of  over  twenty  years,  and  the  order  numbers  among 
its  members  both  the  right  reverend  bishops  of  the  two  dioceses  of 
Indiana,  scores  of  the  reverend  clergy  and  hundreds  of  the  foremost 
laymen  of  the  Catholic  church. 

The  order  was  first  organized  in  Nashville,  Tenn.  It  is 
reported  that  when  "Catholic  Nashville  "  was  under  the  gifted 
spiritual  direction  of  the  good  and  wise  Bishop  P.  A.  Feehan.  now 
archbishop  of  Chicago,  that  he,  on  many  occasions,  warned  his 
people  personally,  and  through  the  pastors  of  his  diocese,  that 
they  beware  of  afBliating  with  non-Catholic  societies.  He  warned 
them  that  any  society  imposing  oaths  and  secrecy  as  an  obligation 

(628r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


of  inembership  and    prescribing  ritualistic  ceremonies,  at   meetings 
and  burials,  was  prohibited  to  the  Catholics  of  his  diocese. 

After  one  of   his  stirring   exhortations   to   his   people  to  shun 
these  associations,  there   was  present,  among.st  his  hearers,  James 
J.  McLaughlin,  a  prominent  citizen  recognized  as  a  zealous  Cath- 
olic and  who  at  the  time  was  active  and    energetic  as  a   Knight  of 
Honor.      After  the  services,  Mr.  McLaughlin  at  ouce  sought  two 
of  his  neighbors,  D.  N.  Burke  and    John    Broderick,   both  fellow- 
Catholics,  and  both  Knights  of  Honor.      He  explained  to  them  his 
impressive  experiences  of  the  morning,  and  insisted  that  a   further 
continuance  of  their  membership   in   the   Knights  of  Honor  would 
be  irreconcilable  with  pract  cal  Catholicity,  and  that,  as  he  could 
not  incur  the  censure  of  his  church,  he   must   end  his  connection 
with  the   Ivnights   of   Honor.      His  sincerity,  and  the  force  of  the 
argument,  coupled  with  their  warm  admiration  and  devoted  friend- 
ship to  him,  at  once  influenced  his  two   friends  to  yield  their  con- 
currence  with   his  convictions.      Mr.    McLaughlin   then    told    his 
friends  that  he  did  not  see  why,  with  proper  religious  safe-guards, 
the  admirable  temporal  features  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  could  not 
be  made  available  to  Roman  Catholics,  and  that  it  was  his  determi- 
nation to   make   an   effort  to   accomplish  it.      He   then  and  there 
suggested  the  features  for  organizing  a  Catholic  society,  based  upon 
the  plan  of  the  Knights  of  Honor,  as  to  all  material  requirements, 
eliminating  every  objectionable  provision    of   the   laws  which  had 
invited  the  antagonism  of  the  bishop,  and,  in  lieu  thereof,  inserting 
specially  emphatic  Catholic  essentials  to  membership. 

The  first  formal  meeting  at  which  the  order  of  the  Catholic 
Knights  of  America  was  organized,  though  this  title  was  not  the  one 
then  selected,  was  convened  on  the  23d  day  of  April,  1877. 
Between  that  and  the  29th  of  May,  1877,  a  number  of  meetings 
were  held,  but  on  the  latter  date  the  committee  on  charter,  consti- 
tution and  laws,  submitted  its  report,  which  was  adopted,  subject 
to  the  bishop's  approval.  The  charter  was  granted  by  the  county 
court  of  Davidson  county,  Tenn.  The  name  of  the  society  at  first 
agreed  upon,  and  which  was  chosen  at  this  meeting,  was  the  order 
of  United  Catholics.  The  constitution  and  laws,  as  reported  and 
adopted,  were  a  reprint  of  those  of  the  Knights  of  Honor,  then  in 

1629] 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

force,  omitting  every  feature  which  could  in  any  manner  be  con- 
strued as  an  infringement  of  the  pivotal  purpose  of  the  founders  to 
have  the  organization  removed  from  any  contingency  of  antagonism 
with  Catholic  requirements,  and  inserting  as  the  order's  foundation 
stone  "practical  Catholicity,"  as  the  essential  prerequisite  to  mem- 
bership. 

At  a  meeting  held  on  June  5,  1877,  in  addition  to  the  regular 
business,  the  name  was  changed  to  Nashville  branch  No.  i,  United 
order  of  Catholics.  At  the  meeting  on  June  12th,  the  adoption 
of  the  name  as  selected  by  the  previous  meeting  was  reconsidered, 
and  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed  to  select  and  recommend 
a  name  to  the  m.eeting.  The  committee  withdrew,  and  shortly 
afterwards  submitted  to  the  meeting  the  Catholic  Knights  of  Honor 
as  the  name  of  the  order.  The  report  of  the  committee  was 
adopted,  and  the  name  by  them  recommended  was  agreed  to. 
The  committee  previously  appointed  to  wait  upon  Bishop  Fee- 
han,  to  secure  his  approval,  stated  that  as  now  the  constitution 
and  laws  had  been  prepared,  submitted  to  and  adopted  by 
the  meeting,  subject  to  the  bishop's  approval,  they  had 
arranged  to  wait  upon  him  for  that  purpose  and  would  be  pre- 
pared to  report  at  the  next  meeting  the  results  of  their  labor. 
Influenced  by  the  inspiration  of  his  devoted  American  citizenship, 
and  his  consciousness  of  the  indisputable  truth  that  all  true 
sons  of  the  Catholic  church,  enjoying  the  favor  of  citizenship,  yield 
to  none  in  flinchless  loyalty  and  patriotic  devotion  to  country, 
Bishop  Feehan  selected  Catholic  Knights  of  America  as  the  name 
of  the  order,  and,  with  this  change,  he  extended  his  cordial 
approval  to  its  objects  and  purposes,  assuring  the  committee  of 
his  hearty  co-opera  ion  and  promising  an  early  visit  to  the  branch 
meeting. 

To  James  J.  McLaughlin  is  unquestionably  due  the  honor  and 
credit  of  founding  the  order  of  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America, 
and  it  was  but  a  fitting  tribute  and  merited  to  his  untiring  efforts  that 
he  should  have  been  made  the  unanimous  choice  as  the  first 
president. 

He  was   born   in  Dublin    county,  Ireland,  on    April  29,   1831. 
He  came  to  this  country,  and   settled    in    Nashville,  Tenn.,  where 

(630) 


IN    THE    STATE    OI'     INDIANA. 

he  was  naturalized  and  became  an  earnest,  active  and  good  citi/en. 
After  an  honorable  life,  respected  and  loved  for  his  noble  nature 
and  kind  heart,  with  an  unsullied  name  and  stainless  character  as 
the  proud  heritage  of  his  children,  he  died  at  Columbia,  Tenn., 
on  March  20,  1883.  a  pious  and  devoted  member  of  the  Catholic 
church.  He  now  sleeps  his  last  sleep  in  Mount  Calvary  cemetery 
at  Nashville,  with  his  resting  place  marked  by  a  neat  monument, 
the  feeble  tribute  of  affectionate  remembrance  from  the  order  he 
loved  and  served  so  well. 

The  order  was  now  fully  launched,  with  episcopal  approval, 
and  its  growth  was  far  beyond  the  most  sanguine  hope  of  its  best 
wishers.  The  meetings  were  largely  attended  and  it  was  but  a 
short  time  until  other  branches  were  organized  by  the  official  organ- 
izer, John  McDonald,  he  having  visited  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Louis- 
ville, and  other  cities  for  this  purpose. 

Several  branches  having  applied  for  a  charter,  among  the  num- 
ber was  branch  No.  7,  of  New  Albany,  Ind.  On  March  10,  1878, 
a  meeting  of  Catholics  was  called  in  the  city  of  New  Albany  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  branch  of  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America. 
Louis  Vernia  was  selected  temporary  chairman,  John  Byrne 
temporary  secretary,  and  Mr.  Doyle,  of  Louisville,  explained  the 
constitution  and  laws  of  the  order  and  aided  very  materially  in  the 
organization  of  this,  the  first  branch  in  our  state.  By  unanimous 
vote  of  those  present,  it  was  decided  to  leave  the  charter  open  for 
two  months  for  the  purpose  of  securing  signers,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  eighteen  charter  members  were  obtained  as  follows: 
John  Byrne,  Joseph  Byrne,  William  S.  Herley,  Henry  E.  Koetter, 
Gerhardt  H.  Koetter,  James  Shea,  Cornelius  Tegart,  Leo  Bark- 
house.  Peter  P.  Schaefer,  Thomas  Gleason,  John  O'Donnell,  Will- 
iam Ryves,  Michael  Neenan,  Sylvester  Bir,  Thomas  Dowd,  Michael 
Welsh,  John   Maley  and  Patrick  Delahunty. 

Of  these  eighteen  charter  members,  four  are  dead,  two  have 
moved  away  from  New  Albany,  and  twelve  still  remain  and  are 
members  of  branch  No.  7.  Shortly  after  the  organization  o  branch 
No.  7,  branch  No.  9  of  New  Albany  was  organized. 

The  order  having  e.xtended  to  the  several  states  under  the 
charter  granted,  the  members  deemed  it  proper  to  have  a  meeting 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

of  the  supreme  council.  An  expression  was  invited  and  had  by 
the  branches,  then  in  existence,  and  the  time  and  place  agreed 
upon  resulted  in  the  selection  of  July  9,  1878,  at  Louisville,  Ky. 
The  first  supreme  council  session  opened  at  the  appointed  time  and 
place  with  a  full  representation  from  all  branches  then  in  existence 
— Indiana  beinj,^  represented  by  Dr.  R.  A.  Davis  from  branch  No.  7, 
of  New  Albany,  and  Joseph  Weber  of  branch  No.  9,  of  the  same 
city — these  two  branches  being  the  only  ones  in  existence  in  this 
state  at  that  time. 

The  second  annual  session  of  the  supreme  council  was  held  in 
the  supreme  court  room,  Indianapolis,  Ind..  July  8,  1879,  and  com- 
pleted its  session  on  July  loth.  At  this  meeting  an  amendment 
was  adopted  reducing  the  basis  of  representation  and  the  meetings 
changed  from  annual  to  biennial,  and  Cincinnati  was  selected  as  the 
place  of  meeting  of  the  third  supreme  council,  which  was  held  on 
July  12,  1881.  At  this  council  was  reported  the  charter  which  had 
been  granted  by  the  legislature  of  the  state  of  Kentucky. 

On  April  i,  1880,  the  general  assembly  of  the  state  of  Ken- 
tucky granted  a  charter  to  the  "  supreme  council,  Catholic  Knights 
of  America,"  authorizing  them  to  transact  business,  which  charter 
was  as  follows: 

Whereas,  Certain  persons,  citizens  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Missouri  and  Indiana  have  formed  a 
corporation  to  promote  benevolence,  morality,  science  and  indus- 
try in  said  states  and  in  the  United  States;  therefore. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  CoiiiuiomvealtJi 
of  Kentucky  : 

Sec.  i.  That  R.  L.  Spalding,  W.  B.  Dalton,  J.  J.  O'Rourke, 
J.  L  Hechmer,  G.  D.  Denser,  L.  H.  Bell,  T.  J.  Gilligan,  D.  H. 
Leonard  and  W.  Neh.  Webb,  and  their  associates  and  successors 
be,  and  they  are  hereby  created  a  body  politic,  to  be  known  by 
the  name,  style  and  title  of  the  supreme  council  Catholic  Knights 
of  America,  and  by  such  name  and  title  shall  have  perpetual  suc- 
cession, and  be  capable  in  law  of  suing  and  being  sued,  pleading 
and  being  impleaded,  and  of  purchasing,  leasing,  holding,  granting 
and  receiving  in  its  corporate  name  such  property,  real,  personal 
and  mixed,  as  is  necessary  for  the  conduct  of  its  business  and 
affairs,  and  of  instituting  grand  councils  and  subordinate  branches 

(632r 


IN    TIIK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


as  it  may  see  fit,  under  such  laws,  rules  and  rej<ulations  as  the  ccjr- 
poration  may  enact,  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  this  state  and 
of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  2.  The  object  of  the  corporation  shall  be  to  unite  fra- 
ternally all  acceptable  Catholics,  of  every  profession,  business  and 
occupation;  to  j^ive  all  possible  moral  and  material  aid  in  its  power 
to  members  of  the  organization,  by  holding  instructive  and  scien- 
tific lectures,  by  encouraging  each  other  in  business,  and  by  assist- 
ing each  other  to  obtain  employment;  to  establish  and  maintain  a 
benefit  fund  from  which  a  sum  not  to  exceed  two  thousand  dol- 
lars shall  be  paid  a  the  death  of  each  member  to  his  family,  or  be 
disposed  of  as  he  may  direct;  but  the  death  benefit  shall  be  litnited 
to  the  assessment  per  capita  until  such  assessment  reaches  two 
thousand  dollars  or  more;  to  establish  a  fund  for  the  relief  of  sick 
and  distressed  members,  and  to  establish  and  maintain  a  circulating 
library  of  useful  and  instructive  books  for  the  use  of  the  members 
of  the  association. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  supreme  council  shall  have  a  common  seal 
for  the  making  and  delivering  of  all  legal  acts  and  proceedings,  the 
same  to  break  or  alter  at  pleasure. 

Sec.  4.  The  said  supreme  council  may  provide  for  holding 
its  annual  meetings  at  such  time  and  place  as  a  majority  of  its  vot- 
ing members  may  select. 

Sec.  5.  The  private  property  of  members  of  the  corporation 
shall  be  exempt  from  the  corporate  debts. 

Sec.  6.  The  supreme  council  may  provide  for  the  election 
of  such  officers  as  it  may  deem  necessary  to  transact  the  business 
of  the  corporation  and  to  further  its  objects,  who  shall  hold  office 
until  their  successors  are  duly  elected,  qualified  and  installed  into 

office. 

Sec.  7.  The  said  supreme  council  shall  have  power  to  create, 
hold  and  disburse  the  funds  named  in  the  objects  of  the  corpora- 
tion for  promoting  benevolence  and  relieving  the  sick  and  dis- 
tressed, under  such  regulations  as  it  may  deem  necessary  to  adopt, 
and  said  fund  shall  be  exempt  from  execution,  and  shall  under  no 
circumstances  be  liable  to  seizure  or  appropriation  by  any  legal 
or  equitable  process  for  any  debt  or  debts  of  any  of  its  living  or 
deceased  members;  and  said  funds  shall  be  exempt  from  the  laws, 
rules  and  regulations  governing  the  Insurance  Bureau  of  this  state. 

Sec.  8.  The  general  assembly  reserves  the  right  to  amend 
and  alter  this  charter. 

Sec.  9.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  passage. 
Approved  April  i,   1880. 

"1633) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

In  1888,  on  April  30th,  the  legislature  of  the  same  generous 
state,  on  application,  allowed  the  charter  to  be  amended  as  follows: 

An  Act  to  amend  the  charter  of  the  supreme  council,  Catholic 
Knights  of  America,  approved  April  i,  1880,  and  to  repeal 
the  act  amendatory  thereof,  approved  March  26,  1888. 
(Chapter  709.) 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Asseinb  y  of  the  ConimomvealtJi 
of  Kentucky : 

Sec.  I.  That  the  charter  of  the  supreme  council.  Catholic 
Knights  of  America,  approved  April  i,  1880,  be  amended  by  strik- 
ing out  section  2  of  said  act,  and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof  the  fol- 
lowing as  section  2,  viz: 

Sec.  2.  The  object  of  this  corporation  shall  be  to  unite 
fraternally  all  acceptable  Catholics  of  every  profession,  business 
and  occupation;  to  give  all  possible  moral  and  material  aid  in  its 
power  to  members  of  the  organization  by  holding  instructive  and 
scientific  lectures,  by  encouraging  each  other  in  business,  and  by 
assisting  each  other  to  obtain  employment;  to  establish  and  main- 
tain a  benefit  fund,  from  which  a  sum  not  to  exceed  five  thousand 
dollars  shall  be  paid  at  the  death  of  each  member  to  his  family, 
or  be  disposed  of  as  he  may  direct,  but  the  death  benefit  shall  be 
limited  to  the  assessment  per  capita,  until  such  assessment  reaches 
five  thousand  dollars,  or  more;  to  establish  and  maintain  a  sinking 
fund  and  a  fund  for  the  relief  of  sick  and  distressed  members,  and 
to  establish  and  maintain  a  circulating  library  of  useful  and 
instructive  books  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  association. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  the  supreme 
council,  Catholic  Knights  of  America,  approved  March  26,  1888, 
be,  and  the  same  is,  hereby  repealed. 

Sec.  4.      This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  passage. 

Approved  April  30,  1888. 

Later  on  other  branches  received  charters,  and  in  1880  branch 
No.  103  was  organized  at  the  cathedral,  Fort  Wayne,  by  Hon. 
P.  S.  O'Rourke,  now  deceased.  After  the  organization  of  this 
branch  Mr.  O'Rourke,  with  his  characteristic  energy,  took  hold  of 
the  matter,  and  by  correspondence  and  addresses  succeeded  in 
having  numerous  branches  organized  throughout  the  state  of 
Indiana  and  western  Ohio,  and  to  him,  more  than  any  man  in  the 
state,  is  due  the   credit  for   the  large  number  of   knights  we  now 

(634r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

have.  His  time  and  means  were  freely  given  to  the  support  of 
this  very  worthy  order,  and  he  was  prominent  in  its  affairs  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death.  In  1881  his  branch  sent  him  as  a  delegate 
to  the  supreme  council,  which  was  held  in  Cincinnati,  but  Mr. 
O'Rourke  did  not  attend  that  council  meeting,  as  he  was  very  sick 
at  the  time  and  supposed  to  be  beyond  recovery.  This  supreme 
council  meeting,  that  was  held  in  Cincinnati,  did  away  with  branch 
representation  and  provided  for  the  branches  in  the  different  states 
organizing  state  councils,  and  for  these  state  councils  to  elect 
representatives  to  the  supreme  council. 

Rarely,  if  ever,  in  the  history  of  Cincinnati,  was  the  heat 
more  oppressive  than  during  this  session  of  the  council.  Sunstroke 
fatalities  were  numerous  and  frequent.  This  condition  of  affairs 
made  it  necessary  to  change  the  meeting  place  from  Melodeon 
hall  to  the  Highland  house,  a  more  congenial  and  less  afflicted 
site.  Important  amendments  were  before  the  council  for  consider- 
ation, and  the  discussions  were  long,  forcible  and  animated.  Up 
to  this  time  branch  representation  was  the  ground  work  of  the 
supreme  council,  and  the  rapid  growth  of  the  order  made  it 
apparent  to  all  of  her  thoughtful  well-wishers,  that  some  means 
must  be  devised  to  remedy  this  cumbersome,  inharmonious  and 
extravagant  system  of  government.  An  increased  mortality, 
beyond  every  expectation,  induced  the  conclusion  that  the  rapid 
increase  of  membership  was  not  surrounded  with  safeguards,  in 
the  medical  tests  of  the  applicants,  as  conducive  to  the  order's 
security  and  permanency.  The  absurd  fallacy,  and  inequitable 
exaction  of  valuable  and  laborious  service,  imposing  heavy  bond 
exactions,  without  any  compensation  whatever,  to  the  executive 
head,  and  with  shamelessly  inadequate  pay  to  the  other  seriously 
important  trusts,  inspired  an  awakening  sense  of  justice  in  those 
who  demanded  faithful  service,  and  who  scouted  the  insane  theory 
that  the  honor  was  a  fair  requital.  Just  complaint  was  made  that 
the  assessment  rate,  as  then  in  vogue,  was  both  unwise  and  faulty, 
and  an  increased  age-limit  from  fifty  to  fifty-five  years  found 
ardent  supporters. 

At  this  meeting  was  created  the  office  of  supreme  medical 
examiner,  and  the  assessment  rate,  which  had  heretofore  been  one 

(685) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

dollar  an  assessment,  was  changed  to  the  following,  which  is  still 
in  force: 

Berween  aees  of  18  and  25  years  §  .70  Between  ages  of  46  and  47  years  Si. 10 

"     "   95  and  30       "        .75                    "  "     "   47  and  48       "       1.15 

"     "  yO  and  85       "         .80                    "  "     "   48  and  49       "       1.20 

"     "   35  and  40       "        .90                    "  "     "   49  and  50       "       1.25 

•• 40  and  45       "      1.00                    "  "     "   50  and  55       "      3.00 

"     "   45  and  46       "      1.05 

On  May  5,  1882,  the  first  state  council  for  Indiana  was  held 
at  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  and  at  this  meeting  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  P. 
Chatard  and  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger  were  elected  spiritual 
directors;  Dr.  E.  J.  Brennan,  of  Indianapolis,  state  president; 
Peter  Moll,  vice-president;  Thomas  J.  Gilligan,  secretary;  Hon.  C. 
|.  Murphy,  treasurer.  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke,  of  Fort  Wayne,  and 
Dr.  E.  J.  Brennan,  of  Indianapolis,  were  elected  representatives 
to  the  supreme  council. 

The  fourth  supreme  council  was  held  May  8,  1883,  in  St. 
Louis,  Mo.  The  delegates  from  this  state  took  an  active  and 
prominent  part  at  this  meeting,  and  both  were  untiring  in  their 
zeal  for  the  welfare  of  the  order.  Dr.  Brennan  is  still  taking  an 
active  part  and  is  now  the  supreme  medical  examiner  of  the  order. 
At  this  meeting  of  the  supreme  council,  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke  was 
elected   a   supreme  trustee   and   served   in   that  capacity   for  two 

years. 

The  second  state  council  of  the  state  of  Indiana  was  held  on 
February  13,  1883,  at  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  at  which  both  of 
our  right  reverend  bishops  were  again  elected  spiritual  directors; 
Hon.  Henry  S.  Cauthorn,  state  president;  Nicholas  Horuff,  vice- 
president;  Thomas  J.  Gilligan,  secretary;  Hon.  C.  J.  Murphy, 
treasurer;  and  Dr.  E.  J.  Brennan  and  Hon.  C.  J.  Murphy,  supreme 
representatives,  but  they  did  not  serve,  as  there  was  no  supreme 
council  for  them  to  attend.  But  at  the  meeting  of  the  third  state 
council,  held  February  12,  1884,  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  they  were 
elected  and  attended  the  fifth  session  of  the  supreme  council,  held 
in  New  York  city  on  May  12,  1885— this  council  being  known  as 
the  "sinking  fund"  council.  The  third  state  council,  above 
referred  to,  elected  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke,  state  president;  A.  S. 
Chapman,  vice-president;  J.  A.    Bedel,  secretary;   J.    H.  Schmidt, 

pep 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol'    INDIANA. 


treasurer;  and  Messrs.  Brennan  and   Murphy  supreme  representa- 
tives.     The  council  which  they  attended  is  a    memorable   one  in 
the  history  of  the  order.      Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke,   of  Fort  Wayne, 
was  a  supreme  trustee,  and  at  this  council  meeting  made  a  success- 
ful effort  providing   for  a  sinking   fund.      His  theory  was   that   no 
assessment  organization  could  exist  if  means  were  not  provided  for 
a  fund  which  could  be  called  upon   in  times  of   urgent    necessity. 
He  contended  that  if  either  an  epidemic,  or  the  death  rate  should 
be    overly  large,  that    many    members   would   drop  out,    and   the 
excessive  assessments  would  prevent  the  acquisition   of  new  mem- 
bers,- and,  to  guard  against  this,  he  proposed  that  ten  per  cent,  of 
each  assessment  be  set  aside  to  be  called   a    "  sinking  fund,"  to  be 
used  only  in  case  of  emergency.      The  committee   on    laws  of  the 
New  York  supreme  council  reported  adversely  to  this  proposition. 
Immediately  on  reading  this  adverse  report,  Mr.    O'Rourke  moved 
that  a  special  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  report  on  his  prop- 
osition, which  was  done.      After  a  short  consultation  by  the  com- 
mittee, Mr.  O'Rourke  was  called  before  them,  and  it  was  suggested 
to  him,  that,  if  he  would  be  satisfied  with  -five  per  cent,  of    each 
assessment,  the   committee  would   report  unanimously  in  favor  of 
the  sinking  fund.     Well  knowing  that    a  half   a   loaf  was    better 
than  no  bread,  Mr.  O'Rourke  immediately  gave  his  approval.    The 
committee  reported  and    unanimously  supported   Mr.  O'Rourke  on 
the  floor  of  the  convention,  which  finally  adopted  his  proposition 
as  the  law  of  the    order.      At  each   succeeding  council,  up   to    the 
present  time,  attacks  have  been  made  on  the  sinking  fund,  but   at 
all  of  these  councils,  with  the  exception  of  one,  Mr.  O'Rourke  was 
present    to    defend    the    order,    and    the    widows  and    orphans  of 
deceased  members,  in  what  he  considered  the  sheet  anchor  of  the 
order,  and   he  never  failed  in  his  emphatic   way   to  impress   upon 
the  members  of  the   supreme  council  the  necessity  of   maintaining 
this,  one  of  the  grandest  features  of  the  supreme  council.  Catholic 
Knights  of  America,  and,  just  previous  to  his  death,   he  remarked 
that  no  fraternal  order  could  exist  successfully  without   a  reserve 
fund.      He    said   his   energies  were  not  put  forward  for  what    his 
beneficiaries  would  be  liable  to  get,  because  he  had   spent,  in  the 
many  years  in  which  he  was  a  member,  far  more  than  the  $2,000 

(637) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


that  would  be  paid  when  he  was  no  more,  but  he  contended  that 
the  bulk  of  the  members  were  of  that  class  of  our  citizens  who 
would  not  or  could  not  go  into  the  old-line  companies  for  protec- 
tion for  their  famihes,  and  that  it  would  be  an  outrage,  without 
reparation,  should  the  order  continue  to  take  the  money  from 
many  hundreds,  yea.  thousands,  of  its  members,  without  a  positive 
assurance  to  them  that,  when  they  die,  their  loved  ones  would  be 
saved  from  want.  The  sinking  fund  at  this  time  amounts  to  a  tritie 
over  $350,000,  the  bulk  of  which  is  invested  in  United  States 
bonds,  the  interest  on  which  ranges  from  four  to  six  per  cent,  per 
annum,  which  is  used  in  assisting  to  pay  death  claims.  At  this  New 
York  meeting  of  the  supreme  council,  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke  was 
elected  supreme  vice-president. 

The  Knights  of  Indiana  held  their  fourth  state  council  in  the 
city  of  Evansville,  on  September  7,   1886,  and  elected  Hon.  P.  S. 
O'Rourke,  state  president;  John  Schu,  vice-president;  A.  S.  Chap- 
man, secretary;  T.  M.  Howard,  treasurer;  H.  C.  Berghoff  and  J. 
Henry  Schmidt  were  elected  supreme  representatives  to  attend  the 
council,  which  held  its  sixth  session  at  the  Palmer  house,  Chicago, 
on  May   10,   1887.      At    this    council    meeting    was    reported    the 
amendment  to  the  charter  previously  referred  to.      At  this  council 
Mr.  O'Rourke  was  again  elected  supreme  vice-president,  he  having 
declined  the  importunities  of   a   vast  majority  of  the  delegates  to 
allow  his  name  to  be  presented  for  supreme  president,  but,  owing 
to  his  business  engagements,  and  knowing  very  well  that  he  could 
not  give  the   office  of  supreme   president  the  attention  which  he 
knew  it  required,  he  declined. 

The  fifth  Indiana  state  council  was  held  on  September  5,  1 888, 
at  the  city  of  Madison,  which  council  again  elected  Hon.  P.  S. 
O'Rourke,  state  president;  John  Schu,  vice-president;  A.  S.  Chap- 
man, secretary;  T.  M.  Howard,  treasurer;  William  S.  O'Rourke 
and  Hon.  C.  J.  Murphy  were  elected  supreme  representatives  to 
represent  the  council,  which  met  in  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  in  May, 
1889,  which  was  the  seventh  supreme  council. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  sixth  session  of  the  supreme 
Gouncil,  Supreme  Medical  Examiner  E.  Miles  Willet  died,  on  Feb- 
ruary 7,   1888,  and  Dr.  E.  J.  Brennan,  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,.was 


IN    THli    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy.      At  this  meeting  of  the  supreme  coun- 
cil, Dr.  Brennan  was  again  elected  supreme  medical  examiner. 

The  sixth  state  council  was  held  September  2,  1890,  at  South 
Bend,  at  which  time  Very  Rev.  M.  E.  Campion  was  elected  state 
president;  John  Schu,  vice-president;  Hon.  Gerard  Keiter,  secre- 
tary; D.  P.  Downs,  treasurer;  and  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke  and  J.  P. 
Clemens  supreme  representatives  to  attend  the  council  which  was 
held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  May,  1891.  The  old  officers 
were  re-elected  with  the  exception  of  one  trustee,  who  was  a 
new  man.  At  this  same  council  meeting  a  committee  on  laws 
reported,  having  been  appointed  by  the  previous  council,  of  which 
William  S.  O'Rourke  was  a  member,  he  having  been  very  active 
in  the  Chattanooga  council  in  his  efforts  to  enact  more  stringent 
laws  for  the  welfare  of  the  order. 

The  seventh  state  council  of  Indiana  was  held  September  6, 
1892,  atLogansport,  where  Very  Rev.  M.  E.  Campion  was  re-elected 
state  president;  Hon.  C.  J.  Murphy,  vice-president;  George  Fahl- 
bush,  secretary;  D.  P.  Downs,  treasurer;  Hon.  Gerard  Reiter 
and  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke  were  elected  at  this  state  council  as 
Indiana's  representatives  to  the  supreme  council,  which  was  held 
in  the  city  of  Chicago,  commencing  May  9,   1893. 

The  next  state  council  meeting  was  held  in  \  incennes,  in 
August,  1894,  at  which  Right  Rev.  Chatard  and  Right  Rev. 
Rademacher  were  elected  spiritual  directors;  Peter  Wallrath, 
state  president;  P.  R.  McCarthy,  vice-president;  George  Fahlbush, 
secretary;  D.  P.  Downs,  treasurer,  and  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke  and 
Louis  J.  Herman  were  elected  representatives  to  the  supreme 
council. 

Mr.  Herman,  at  the  time  the  supreme  council  met,  was  very 
ill  and  could  not  attend,  and  his  alternate,  Hon.  Gerard  Reiter, 
appeared  in  his  place.  This  supreme  council  meeting  was  held  in 
May,  1895,  in  Omaha,  Nebr.,  and,  as  usual,  Indiana's  representa- 
tives were  second  to  none  in  their  endeavors  for  the  promotion  of 
good  to  the  order.  This  council  unanimously  re-elected  William 
S.  O'Rourke  supreme  secretary,  and  complimented  him  very  highly 
on  the  successful  manner  in  which  he  had  conducted  the  affairs  of 


(639) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

his  office  and  the  expedition  with  which  he  dispatched  all  of  his 
official  functions. 

At  the  close  of  this  council  meeting  the  membership  in  Indi- 
ana increased  ver}^  rapidly.  New  branches  were  organized  in 
many  parishes  throughout  the  state  and  accessions  to  old  branches 
occurred  in  many  places  at  almost  every  meeting,  so  that  when  the 
next  state  council  was  held  at  Columbus  in  August,  1896,  a  vastly 
increased  membership  was  reported.  This  state  council  re-elected 
the  two  bishops  as  spiritual  directors;  P.  R.  McCarthy,  president; 
I.  Freiburger,  vice-president;  A.  J.  Lauck,  secretary;  D.  P. 
Downs,  treasurer;  and  Hon.  Gerard  Reiter  and  Peter  Wallrath 
were  elected  supreme  representatives  and  attended  the  supreme 
council  meeting,  which  was  held  in  Mobile,  Ala.,  in  May,  1897. 
Besides  the  officers  and  representatives  from  this  state  who 
attended  this  supreme  council,  many  of  the  members  from 
throughout  the  state  were  present,  all  enthusiastic  in  their  endeav- 
ors to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  order.  This  council  meeting, 
however,  was  perhaps  as  unsatisfactory  to  the  members  at  large  as 
any  that  was  ever  held.  There  was  such  a  diversity  of  opinion 
that  it  was  impossible  for  any  of  the  various  plans  suggested  to 
meet  the  approval  of  a  sufficient  number  of  representatives  pres- 
ent to  insure  their  adoption.  Indiana  had  been  represented  for 
many  years  on  the  board  of  supreme  officers,  and  this  meeting 
completed  the  tenure  of  office  of  William  S.  O'Rourke,  supreme 
secretary,  and  Hon.  Gerard  Reiter,  of  Vincennes,  was  elected 
supreme  treasurer,  he  taking  his  office  in  July,  1897.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  supreme  officers,  at  the  same  time.  Dr.  E.  J.  Bren- 
nan,  of  Indianapolis,  was  re-elected  supreme  examiner,  his  experi- 
ence and  his  ability  being  recognized  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the 
supreme  officers. 

Not  only  are  the  finances  and  the  medical  department  looked 
after  by  members  in  this  state,  but  the  uniform  rank  department  is 
ably  conducted  by  John  W.  Nordhaus,  who  for  years  has  been  de- 
voted in  his  attention  to  the  uniform  rank.  Catholic  Knfghts  of 
America.  This  branch  of  the  order  was  started  in  1881,  by  Hon. 
P.  S.  O'Rourke  in  branch  103,  that  having  been  the  first  uniform 
branch  in   the   order.      In   1889   there   was   a  sufficient   number  of 

(640) 


IN    THK    STATK    OI'    INDIANA. 

iinifonn  companies  in  the  state  to  perfect  a  state  organization. 
Other  states  saw  the  necessity  and  the  beauties  of  this  rank,  and 
soon  followed  suit,  so  that  the  supreme  council,  which  met  in 
Omaha  in  May,  1895,  made  provision  for  a  uniform  rank.  In 
1897,  this  branch  of  the  order  received  substantial  recognition  by 
causing  suitable  laws  to  be  adopted  for  the  establishment  of  the 
uniform  rank  officers,  and  John  W.  Nordhaus,  of  Vincennes,  hav- 
ing been  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  military  men  of  the 
order,  was  unanimously  chosen  commander-in-chief  of  that 
department  throughout  the  country. 

The  order's  record  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  from  the  organ- 
ization of  branch  No.  7,  in  New  Albany,  down  to  the  present  time, 
is  indeed  a  proud  and  a  flattering  one.  The  management  of  her 
affairs  by  the  several  state  officers,  who  have  served  so  devotedly 
and  so  well,  has  shown  honesty,  devotion  and  self-sacrifice,  and  at 
no  time  during  this  period  have  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America 
deviated  one  jot  in  their  duty  to  the  order  they  love  so  well. 
Though  affliction  has  befallen  the  order,  during  its  long  existence, 
the  Knights  in  Indiana  only  worked  the  harder,  and,  if  such  a 
thing  were  possible,  became  more  devoted  in  their  efforts.  Many 
millions  of  dollars  have  been  paid  by  the  order  to  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  deceased  members,  Indiana,  owing  to  her  large  mem- 
bership, having  received  her  proportionate  share,  and  many 
homes,  grief-stricken  by  the  loss  of  a  kind  husband  and  father, 
have  been  alleviated  by  the  bounteousness  and  liberality  of  the 
order  of  Catholic  Knights  of  America. 

AMERICAN   SONS  OF  COLUMBUS. 

It  is  erroneously  supposed  that  the  Roman  Catholic  church  is 
unalterably  opposed  to  secret  societies  and  that  all  societies  that 
are  secret  are  condemned  by  the  church.  This  idea,  which  is  very 
extended,  is  not  in  consonance  with  the  doctrines  of  the  church. 

It  is  true  that  many  secret  societies  are  opposed  by  the  church, 
and  a  few  are  condemned,  but  this  opposition  or  condemnation  is 
not  owing  to  their  secrecy,  but  to  their  practices,  aims,  and  the 
ends  they  endeavor  to  attain. 

There  are  many  secret  societies,  both  in  and  out  of  the  church, 

38  (641) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


that  have  on  their  roster  the  names  of  eminent  practical  CathoHcs, 
and  the  fact  that  such  societies  are  secret  does  not  debar  Catholics 
from  joining  them  as  Catholics.  While  the  church  discourages 
secret  societies,  she  does  not  absolutely  prohibit  them  because  of 
secrecy.  There  are  many  non-secret  societies  that  Catholics  are 
not  permitted  to  join,  where  their  aim  and  purpose  is  contrary  to 
law  or  morality.  We  are  all  prone  to  seek  after  that  which  is  hid- 
den, and   many   societies   maintain   a   large   membership  owing  to 

this  fact. 

Many  Catholic  young  men  have  been  lost  to  the  church  simply 
because  of  secret  societies.  It  was  principally  owing  to  this  fact 
that  the  order  of  the  American  Sons  of  Columbus  was  organized. 
The  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rouke,  now  deceased,  took  a  lively  interest  in 
all  matters  pertaining  to  the  church.  He  was  broad-minded  and 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  his  fellow-man.  He  thought  that  the 
loss  to  the  church  was  many  times  the  accession,  as  he  attributed 
it  chiefly,  to  outside  secret  societies.  He  maintained  that,  as  man 
is  a  social  creature,  he  will  seek  that  element  of  society  which  suits 
him  best;  and  that,  owing  to  man's  desire  to  attain  that  which  is 
exclusive,  his  investigating  nature  will  drive  him  to  some  secret 
society.  The  average  young  man,  as  soon  as  he  becomes  a  mem- 
ber of  a  secret  society,  relaxes  little  by  little  his  religious  teach- 
ings and  finally,  having  associated  with  non-Catholics,  marries  out 
of  the  faith  and  in  many  instances  is  lost  to  the  church  forever. 

Mr.  O'Rourke  thought  a  secret  society,  composed  entirely  of 
Catholics,  would  be  a  means  of  benefit  to  the  church.  To  add  to 
his  conviction,  one  evening,  while  attending  the  council  of  Balti- 
more, he  was  present  at  a  gathering  and  heard  a  prominent  Cath- 
olic remark  that  "the  way  to  contend  against  secret  societies  at 
variance  with  the  church  was  to  have  secret  societies  among  Cath- 
olics themselves,  in  harmony  with  the  church."  This  nurtured  the 
thought  he  himself  had  so  long  entertained. 

After  returning  home  Mr.  O'l^ourke  matured  a  plan  and  ritual 
for  a  secret  society  and  submitted  them  to  his  bishop,  the  Right 
Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger.  The  bishop  gave  him  his  endorsement, 
and  in  1892  he  organized,  at  Fort  Wayne,  colony  No.  i,  American 
Sons  of   Columbus,  and    one   year  later   he   organized   the    ladies' 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

auxiliary,  the  Daughters  of  Isabella.  The  society  is  secret,  but  is' 
open  to  the  investigation  and  inspection  of  the  ordinary  of  the  dio- 
cese in  which  a  colony  exists;  and  the  reverend  clergy  are  admitted 
as  honorary  visitors,  a  courtesy  which  is  extended  to  no  other  per- 
son. The  ritual  is  in  harmony  with  the  doctrines  of  the  church, 
and  it,  together  with  the  objects  and  aims  of  the  organization, 
were  approved  by  Mgr.  Satolli. 

Having  secured  the  endorsement  of  his  bishop  and  the  Pope's 
personal  representative  in  this  country,  Mr.  O'Rourke   felt  assured 
that  the  Catholic  young  men  could  join  a  secret  society  of  their 
own  which  was  in  harmony  with,  and   recognized   by,  the  authori- 
ties of  the  church. 

The  objects  of   the  American   Sons  of   Columbus   are   to  give- 
Catholic  gentlemen  a  secret   society   that   is  in  consonance   with 
their  religion;  to  create  a  fraternal  feeling  among   its   members;  to- 
aid  one  another,  when  assistance  is  wanted;  to  help  the  poor  andJ 
needy;  to  meet  at  their  hall  or   homes  in  social   enjoyment,  and  tc 
foster  that   spirit   of   religion   and   love  of  country  all  intelligent 
Catholics  possess.      The  social  feature  was  adopted  for  the  benefit 
of  the  younger  members,  not  only  in  the  American  Sons  of  Colum- 
bus, but  in  the  auxiliary.      The  founder  believed  that  a  close  social 
relation  among  Catholics  would  largely  prevent    mixed  marria^'esv 

The  non-Catholic  churches   have  their  societies   where  young; 
people  meet  and  mingle,  and   the   lack   of   Catholic   sociability  is 
largely    responsible    for  so    many   non-Catholic   marriages.       The 
American  Sons  of   Columbus  has  in  many  places  created   Catholic 
society  and  has  provided  a  place  where  young  people  can   meet  in 
social    pleasure.      But    the   social   feature   does   not   predominate. 
Literature,  music,    organized  charity — all   secure   close  attention, 
and  in  many  cities   where  colonies   exist,  the  uplifting  tendencies 
of  the  Sons  are  felt.      There  is  an  insurance  feature  connected  with 
the  society,  but  it  has  never  been  prominently  urged,  owing  to  the. 
multiplicity  of  fraternal  insurance  societies. 

In  giving  a  name  to  the  organization,  Mr.  O'Rourke.  thought 
"the  American  Catholics  ought  to  do  something  for  Columbus,. 
who  was  the  first  white  American,"  and  concluded,  therefore,  that 
the  name  "American  Sons  of  Columbus  "  would  combine  all   that 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

the  American  Catholics  could  desire.  It  couples  our  country  with. 
the  discoverer  of  it,  and  we  are  his  sons.  He  seems  to  combine 
all  in  section  3  of  the  constitution,  which  he  drafted,  explaining 
eligibility  to  membership;  it  says: 

Sec.  '6.  To  enable  all  sood  and  well  disposed  laymen  of  reasonable  health, 
without  regard  to  nationality  or  worldly  wealth,  to  become  united  fraternally  as  a 
Ijand  of  brothers  under  the  cross  of  our  Savior,  the  flag  of  our  country,  and  the  ban- 
ner of  Columbun. 

This  is  Catholic  and  patriotic.  The  emblem  of  our  faith!  our 
•country's  flag!  and  the  banner  held  aloft  by  Columbus  when,  on 
his  knees  on  American  soil,  he  gave  thanks  to  God  for  the  land  he 
iiad  discovered!  For  a  society  of  Catholics  no  sentiment  can  be 
more  fitting  and  no   name    more    honored   than  American  Sons  of 

Columbus. 

The  first  colony  was  organized  in  Fort  Wayne,  and  the  order 
.has  now  extended  over  several  states.      The  society  is  accomplish- 
ing the  ends  its  organizer  had  in  mind.     The  work  and  the  field  is 
a  peculiar  one  to  work  in,  being  confined  to  a  few — the  better  class 
of  Catholics.      Those  whose  minds  have  been  broadened  by  exten- 
sive reading  .and  contact  with   their   fellow-man  can  see  that  the 
founding  of  this  organization  could  have  been   accomplished  only 
by  such  a  man  as  P.  S.  O'Rourke;   that   its  growth  must  depend 
largely  on  such  exertions  and  energies  as  he  could  and  would  lend 
it,  but,  once  thoroughly  built   up  and    understood,  it   would  be  a 
power  for  good..     The  reverend  clergy  in  many  cases  give  it  a  fos- 
tering care,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  more  of  them,  a  colony  of 
the  Americon  Sons  of  Columbus  would  exist   in   every  parish  and 
the  order  be  as  numerous  as  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and   a  power  for  as 

much  good. 

We  cannot  refrain  from  giving  a  letter  written  by  Right  Rev. 
■Otto  Zardetti,  bishop  of   St.  Cloud,  Minn.,  after   his  return  from 

Rome,  in  1892. 

St.  Cloud,  Minn.,  Dec.  1,  1892. 
To  the  Hon.  C.  F.  McDonald,  Noble  Admiral  of  the  Colony  of   the  Sons  of  Colum- 
bus in  St.  Cloud: 
The  first  official  public  letter  which  I  write  since  my  return  from  abroad  I 
desire  to  direct  to  my  dear  Sons  of  Columbus.     Since  the  idea  of  starting  such  a 
colony  in  St.  Cloud  took  shape  I  have   looked  with  increasing  interest  upon  it  as 

-(644F 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

my  favoriti*  society,  destined  to  unite,  in  mutual  love,  friendship  and  assistance,  the- 
t^ood  youn^'  men  of  our  iirosperinff  city.  And,  no  doubt,  it  was  a  good  augury  that 
the  colony  was  started  in  the  great  Columbian  year.  Whenever  1  spoke  of  start- 
ing such  a  society  I  always  added  that  eventually  they  shtjuld  make  it  a  point  to- 
meet,  if  possible  and  opportunity  would  suggest,  in  banquets,  entertainments,  etc.. 
I  am  delighted  to  see  to-day  for  the  first  time,  from  No.  28  of  the  Daily  Times,  that 
such  a  bancpiel  took  place  on  the  great  and  menKjrable  day  of  October  22.  I  can- 
not refrain  from  giving  expression  to  my  pleasure  at  this  fact  and  to  compliment 
you  on  Its  success.  I,  furthermore,  am  desirous  to  extend  my  gratitude  to  the  noblt 
Sons  of  Columbus  for  the  initiative  steps  they  took  in  giving  me  a  cordial  welcome 
home.  May  the  day  not  be  too  far  distant  that  will  see  realized  the  hopes  of  your 
noble  admiral  (upon  whose  noble  sentiments  and  able  direction  I  wish  to  congratu- 
late the  whole  colony),  in  saying:  "  I  hoi)e  it  to  grow  and  to  increase  until  it  could, 
have  its  own  hall,  reception  rooms,  reading  rooms  and  places  of  enjoyment.'" 

Believe  me  yours  sincerely, 

IOtto,  Bishop  of  St.  Cloud. 

The  sentiments  expressed  in  this  letter  were  gratifying  to  alT 
Sons  of  Columbus,  and  to  none  more  than  to  Hon.  P.  S.  O'Rourke. 
The  reverend  clergy  in  many  cases  encouraged  young  men  to  join. 
The  charitable  work  of  the  order  and  its  auxiliary,   the  Daughters 
of  Isabella,  has  made  many  a  lonely  hearth-stone  glad  with   their 
bounteous  contributions,  and  many  a  home  that  has  been   visited 
by  the  death   angel   has   derived   consolation  in   its   bereavement 
through  the  i^istrumentality  of  the  American  Sons  of   Columbus. 
As  there  are  orders  and  orders  whose  alleged  object  is  the   same,, 
so  there  are    methods   and   methods  by  which  these  objects  are 
attained.      As  the  Sons  of  Columbus  and  its  auxiliary  are   among; 
the  newest  and  most  recent  thought  in  this  field  of  organization,, 
so  it  can  be  justly  claimed  for  it  as  embodying  the  best  and  ripest 
experience  of  all;  profiting  by  them — avoiding  questionable  or  un- 
practicable  methods,  and  appropriating,  without  costly  and  danger- 
ous experiments,  all  that  is  of  genuine  worth  in  the  others.      As  art 
order  founded   on    the    sublime    idea    and    principle    of    fraternal 
brotherhood,  it  presents  a  completeness  that  few  other  societies 
have  attained  or  even  approximated.      Its  boundaries  are  broad, 
generous    and    comprehensive,    and     are     a    fitting    and     faithful 
expression  of  the  heart  and  life  of  its  founder. 

[For  the  above  sketch  of  the  American  Sons  of  Columbus  the 
publishers  are  indebted  to  W.  S.  O'Rourke,  of  Fort  Wayne.] 

1645), 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 
THE    CATHOLIC    BENEVOLENT    LEGION. 

The  Catholic  Benevolent  legion  is  designed  to  afford  Roman 
Catholics  all  the  advantages  offered  by  the  popular  fraternal 
societies  and  best  regulated  co-operative  assessment  life  insurance 
associations.  The  supreme  council  was  incorporated  under  the 
laws  o.f  the  state  of  New  York,  September  5,  1881,  and  authorized 
to  transact  life  insurance  business  upon  the  assessment  plan.  This 
body  is  composed  of  its  charter  members  and  representatives  from 
state  councils;  it  has  power  to  make  its  own  constitution,  and 
formulate  rules  of  discipline'  and  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
entire  order.  Its  members  belong  to  various  subordinate  councils, 
where  they  must  pay  dues  and  assessments,  and  abide  by  the  laws 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  humblest,  their  membership  in  the 
supreme  council  being  dependent  upon  their  remaining  in  good 
standing  in  their  respective  subordinate  councils. 

Subordinate  councils  constitute  the  real  groundwork  of  the 
organization  and  contain  all  the  members  of  the  supreme  and  state 
councils.  A  subordinate  council  is  desired  in  every  congregation. 
The  objects  of  the  legion  are: 

To  unite  fraternally  for  social,  benevolent  and  intellectual 
improvement,  only  male  Roman  Catholics,  personally  acceptable, 
of  sound  bodily  health,  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  fifty- five 
years  at  the  time  9f  admission;  to  afford  moral  and  material  aid 
to  its  members  and  their  dependents  by  establishing  a  fund  for  the 
relief  of  its  sick  and  distressed  members;  to  establish  a  benefit 
fund  from  which,  on  the  satisfactorv  evidence  of  the  death  of  a 
member  who  shall  have  complied  with  all  its  lawful  requirements, 
a  sum  not  exceeding  $5,000  shall  be  paid  to  his  family  or  depend- 
ents, as  such  member  may  have  directed.  And  from  which  benefit 
fund  a  sum  not  exceeding  $2,500  may  be  paid  to  a  member  who 
shall  have  become  permanently  disabled  from  attending  to  business 
or  gaining  a  livelihood,  and  who,  having  complied  with  all  its  law- 
ful requirements,  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  expectancy,  as  fixed  by 
the  printed  tables  in  the  laws  of  the  legion. 

Prior  to  September  5,  1881,  when  the  legion  was  instituted  in 
the  city  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Catholics  sought  in  vain  for  an  associa- 

<646r 


IN    TIIK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

tion  which  could  measure  up  to  their  several  requirements — the 
essentials  being  a  healthful  and  congenial  companionship,  perme- 
ated by  a  broad  spirit  of  fraternity,  and  a  system  of  protection  for 
the  Catholic  household,  with  foundation  so  securely  laid  as  to  dis- 
arm all  assaults  upon  its  ability  and  integrity  and  with  cost  so 
reasonable  as  to  be  within  the  reach  of  all  who  might  desire  to 
throw  the  mantle  of  protection  around  their  hitherto  neglected 
homes.  The  legion  fulfills  each  of  these  stipulations  with  rigid 
exactness,  and  membership  in  the  order  bestows  innumerable 
benefits  and  blessings  previously  unknown  to  our  people.  Although 
at  times  social  ostracism  and  personal  estrangement  have  hung  like  a 
drooping  pall  over  some  of  our  Catholic  communities,  the  legion 
supplies  the  silken  cord  which  binds  them  together  with  the  utmost 
fidelity  and  imprints  upon  them  the  enduring  seal  of  Catholic 
love  and  unity. 

But  reprehensible  as  this  social  disorder  may  have  been,  it  was 
insignificant  in  its  consequences,  as  compared  to  the  fell  vice  of 
improvidence  which  existed  so  conspicuously  in  our  midst,  and 
which  seemed  to  have  descended  to  our  people,  as  a  pestilential 
inheritance  of  former  generations.  Were  proof  required  to  demon- 
strate the  prevalence  of  the  evil  amongst  us,  we  have  but  to  point 
to  our  overflowing  orphan  asylums,  as  mute  testimonials  to  the 
Catholic  father's  improvidence,  as  dread  censors  of  his  faithless- 
ness to  those  innocent  ones  whom  God  has  entrusted  to  his  care. 
Or,  with  equal  accuracy,  we  might  indicate  the  numerous  penal 
institutions,  which  deface  every  quarter  of  our  common  country, 
as  most  suggestive  monuments  which  the  Catholic  fathers  of  the 
past  have  reared  to  their  stupidity  and  improvidence. 

But  what  in  the  past  was  merely  a  vice  of  improvidence, 
becomes  to-day,  in  the  face  of  the  extraordinary  opportunities  and 
inducements  offered  by  the  legion,  a  positive  crime  of  neglect,  for 
which  only  severest  censure  and  reproach  can  survive  in  the  hearts 
of  those  against  whom  it  is  practiced. 

All  the  ills  above  enumerated  may  be  averted  or  materially 
alleviated  by  membership  in  this  admirable  order,  and  its  doors 
are  ever  open  to  receive  all  worthy  applicants.  None  are  excluded 
who  possess  the  requisites  of  health  and    moral  acceptability,  and 

"(647) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

all  are  eligible  to  its  ranks,  without  regard  to  nationality  or  the 
conditions  of  life.  Hence,  none  should  fail  to  heed  the  invitation 
to  become  members  of  the  legion,  for  none  can  safely  afford  to  do 
so.  The  poor  man  has  no  other  hope  or  expectation  of  providing 
for  the  future  of  his  family,  for  the  meager  wages  prevailing  now 
will  not  admit  of  any  effective  fund  being  accumulated,  according 
to  the  established  processes  of  saving,  and  hence  to  him  the  legion 
is  indispensable.  Those  who  are  wealthy  should  not  spurn  the 
proffered  hand  of  protection,  for  the  opulent  of  to-day  may  be  the 
mendicants  of  to-morrow.  Reverses  may  come  to  the  best  of  us. 
Riches  are  proverbially  fleeting,  and  a  storm  at  sea,  a  destructive 
fire,  the  failure  of  others,  the  reversal  of  the  channels  of  trade, 
or  the  shrinkage  of  commercial  values,  may  either  be  the  stepping- 
stone  from  affluence  to  want.  Therefore,  let  none  pamper  them- 
selves with  the  false  idea  that  they  are  above  the  benisons  of 
mutual  insurance. 

THE    YOUNG    MEN's    INSTITUTE. 

In  Catholic  circles  in  Indiana,  in  common  with  their  co-relig- 
ionists in  other  states,  has  been  felt  the  necessity  for  organization 
of  their  young  men  along  the  lines  of  the  fraternal  societies  out- 
side the  church.  It  has  been  found  that  the  various  organiza- 
tions known  among  Catholics,  aiming  at  benevolence,  national 
ties,  and  other  ends,  have  not  been  equal  to  meeting  all  the 
requirements  of  the  day.  While  good  in  themselves  and  exhibiting 
flattering  results,  they  nevertheless  fail  in  their  ubiquity  and  unity 
which  in  this  generation  are  demanded. 

To  meet  these  requirements,  while  at  the  same  time  affording 
all  the  opportunities  and  advantages  held  out  by  the  various  local 
Catholic  societies,  the  Young  Men's  institute  was  organized,  in 
San  Francisco,  in  1883.  The  aims  and  aspirations  of  the  Young 
Men's  institute,  according  to  its  literature,  are  to  provide  an  order 
or  organization  in  which  every  acceptable  Catholic  man  may  join 
and  enjoy  the  benefits  of  association  with,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  moral  and  to  a  degree  the  material  support  of  his  fellow- 
Catholics. 

Beside  these  things,  which  are  all  the  outside  fraternal  organ- 

(648r 


IN    THI-:    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 


i/.ations  can  hope  to  afford,  the  Young  Men's  institute  holds  its 
members  steadily  in  the  faith,  demands  of  them  the  faithful  per- 
formance of  all  their  temporal  and  spiritual  duties;  and  to  these 
ends   ceases   not  to    encourage    the   practice   of  sobriety,   morality 

and  charity. 

Sick  benefits  are  provided  for,  as  also  insurance  if  desired;  and 
the  whole  tendency  of  the  workings  of  the  organization  is  to  incline 
the  members  to  willingly  perform  the  corporal  works  of  mercy  and 
thereby  lift  up  the  young  men  of  the  church  to  a  standing  in  keep- 
ing with  their  faith. 

Provision  is  also  made  so  that  each  council  of  the  order  may 
have  lectures,  a  library  and  reading  rooms,  gymnasium,  reading 
circles,  debating  societies  and  all  athletic  sports  within  the  organi- 
zation; so  that  Catholic  young  men,  in  indulging  their  tastes  or 
ambitions,  will  not  have  to  walk  in  harm's  way  while  doing  so. 

The  Young  Men's  institute  has  thus  far  met  with  a  measure 
of  success  far  beyond  the  fondest  hopes  of  its  founders;  having 
received  the  endorsement  of  the  hierarchy  and  the  clergy  of  the 
Catholic  church,  its  progress  is  now  almost  a  triumphal  march 
among  Catholics  all  over  the  country. 

It  invited  itself  to  the  state  of  Indiana  in  1894,  and  it  has 
since  then  made  such  progress  that  at  this  writing  (1898)  it  has 
nineteen  councils  in  existence  in  our  midst,  with  a  membership  of 
about  1,500.  Bishop  Chatard  has  endorsed  the  organization,  and 
to  his  encouragement  and  sanction  it  owes  much  of  its  present  suc- 
cess in  his  diocese.  Beside  his  favoring  it  in  the  sense  of  an 
endorsement,  he  has  done  much  more  by  accepting  membership. 
With  him  in  this  respect  stand  Archbishops  Riordan,  Feehan, 
Kain,  Elder  and  Ryan,  and  also  Bishops  Maes,  O'Hara,  Montgom- 
ery, Byrne,  McFaul  and  Hoban. 

As  if  to  leave  nothing  undone  that  might  encourage  the  spread 
of  the  order.  Rev.  D.  O'Connell,  rector  of  the  American  college  at 
Rome,  by  request,  secured  the  endorsement  of  the  Pope.  Leo  XIII, 
and  sent  to  the  officials  of  the  Young  Men's  institute  the  glad  news 
that,  "  His  Holiness  imparts  the  desired  benediction  to  the  Young 
Men's  institute."  When  .Archbishop  Satolli  was  apostolic  delegate 
to  the  United  States,  on  being  furnished  with  information  as  to  the 


A    HISTOKV    OF    CATHOLICITY 

objects  and  workings  of  the  order,  he  wrote  as  follows  in  commen- 
dation of  it: 

1  have  received  and  read  with  much  pleasure  the  copy  of  the  constitution 
and  rules  of  the  Young  Men's  institute  which  you  kindly  sent  me.  I  rejoice  at  the 
noble  purpose  for  which  you  are  united  and  have  formed  this  association— purpose 
so  well  epitomized  in  these  few  words,  "  Fro  Deo,  Pro  Patria." 

I  beg  you  to  convey  to  your  society  the  good  wishes  which  I  have  for  the 
spread  of  their  organization,  and  for  their  continual  prosperity,  recommending  that 
in  all  their  actions  they  show  that  deference  for  ecclesiastical  authorities  which 
becomes  good  Catholics,  and  even  in  their  amusements  they  comi)ly  with  the  rules 
of  the  thi.d  plenary  council  of  Baltimore. 

Begging  upon  you  and  your  whole  association  the  special  blessing  of  God,  I 
remain,  dear  sir.  Yours  sincerely  in  Christ 

+FRANC1S,  Archbishop  Satolli, 
Apostolic  Delegate. 

The  national  convention  of  the  Atlantic  jurisdiction  of  the 
order,  as  distinct  from  the  Pacific  jurisdiction,  was  held  at  Indian- 
apolis in  1895.  This  was  followed  by  a  unification  of  the  working 
departments  of  the  order  in  the  United  States  and  the  establish- 
ment of  local  or  state  jurisdictions.  The  first  and  second  annual 
conventions  of  the  Indiana  jurisdiction  were  held  also  at  Indian- 
polis  in  the  years  1896  and  1897,  while  the  third  was  held  at  Terre 
Haute,  in  1898. 

The  first  council  of  the  order  organized  in  the  state  of  Indiana 
was  Marquette  council,  No.  195,  located  at  Washington,  Daviess 
county.  Considering  its  limited  territory  it  is  awarded  the  palm 
for  the  large  number  of  members — almost  the  entire  male  portion 
of  the  Catholic  community — which  has  been  on  its  roster  in  good 
standing  from  the  very  first. 

Brownson  council,  No.  272,  was  the  first  established  in  the 
capital  city  of  the  state.  William  J.  Mooney  was  its  first  presi- 
dent. For  a  time  it  was  the  largest  council  in  the  state,  but  was 
finally  outstripped  in  the  number  of  its  members  by  Capital  coun- 
cil, No.  276.  Nearly  one-half  the  membership  of  the  order  in 
Indiana  at  this  date,  1898,  belongs  in  the  five  councils  at  Indian- 
apolis. These  councils  were  organized  and  numbered  in  the  fol- 
lowing order:  Brownson  council.  No.  272;  Weber  council,  No. 
274;  Capital  council,  No.  276;  Wayne  council,  No.  288,  and  Quig- 
ley  council,  No.  439. 

(650  r 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

The  methods  of  government  practiced  by  the  Young  Men's 
institute  need  not  be  detailed  here;  its  aims  and  the  means  em- 
ployed are  all  that  concerns  the  reader.  Its  success,  however,  is 
a  matter  for  rejoicing  over — a  success  in  our  midst  which  dates 
specially  to  the  establishment  of  the  Indiana  jurisdiction  in  1896. 
To  more  fully  set  forth  that  success,  the  nineteen  councils,  already 
referred  to,  are  here  tabulated,  together  with  the  various  locations 
of  the  same,  and  the  names  of  the  president  and  corresponding 
secretary  of  each  council  for  the  year  1898: 

No.         Name.  Location.  President.  Cor.  Secretary. 

195.  Marquette Washington Mathew  Burke..  .John  E.  Crane. 

238.  Newman Vincennes J.  C.  Maloney J.  B.  Shcefers. 

262.  Unity New  Albany Charles  Pfeffer  . .  .  Fred.  Lamke. 

271.  Americus Greensburg Hugh  Wickens..  .John  F.  Russell. 

272.  Brownson Indianapolis J.  A.  Kebler Jos.  Spellmire. 

274.  Weber "  T.  E.  Brennan James  McNulty. 

276.  Capital "  Wm.  F.  Moore...  .C.  A.  Siinger. 

277.  Good  Will Terre  Haute G.  W.  Hoffman.  ..Wm.  Heuer. 

279.     St.  Lawrence Muncie .M.  D.  Flaherty  ..  .Jerry  Gallivan. 

287.  Madison Madison J.J.  Kasper Chas.  Hoffman. 

288.  Wayne Indianapolis M.  J.  Dugan V.  L.  Dugan. 

292.  Seymour Seymour P.  J.  Conrad V.  M.  Fettig. 

405.  Trinity New  Albany J.  A.  Mathews John  A.  Cody. 

439.  Rev.  W.F.Quigley.. Indianapolis J.  \'.  Scanlon Wm.  C.  Delaney. 

464.  St.  Martin's Jasper Henry  Pfau G.  Grammelspacher. 

466.  Kutassy Evansville J.  F.  Schmitz J.  L.  Goelzhauser. 

467.  Columbia Rushville M.  F.  Purceli J.J.  Geraghty. 

482.     Sondermann Lawrenceb'rg.  .C.  J.  Lang C.  H.  Polking. 

497.     St.  Augustine Huntingburg. .  .Wm.  Mundy Anton   E.  Windholt- 

It  is  safe  to  assert  as  a  fact,  which  can  not  be  contradicted, 
that  the  Young  Men's  institute  is  the  only  organization  established 
thus  far  that  comes  any  way  near  affording  adequate  means  for 
uniting  the  Catholic  young  men  of  America. 


(651) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  SPANISH  INQUISITION  NOT  A  CHURCH  INSTITUTION,  BUT  A 
STATE  COURT — FALSEHOODS  AND  MISREPRESENTATIONS  PUB- 
LISHED   BY    SO-CALLED    HISTORIANS. 


T 


HE  probability  is  that  nine-tenths  of  the  readers  of  profane  his- 
tory, more  especially  Protestant  readers,  are  laboring  under 
serious  misapprehensions  and  imbued  with  false  ideas  in  relation  to 
that  hideous  court  of  injustice  known  as  the  "  Spanish  Inquisi- 
tion." It  was  an  affair  of  state,  not  of  church,  and  this  brief 
chapter  is  here  interjected  in  the  History  of  Catholicity  in  the  State 
of  Indiana,  not  for  the  reason  that  it  is  a  component  part  of  this 
history,  but  that  it  is  an  episode  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  do  much 
toward  eradicating  from  the  public  mind  a  wide-pervading  preju- 
dice against  the  church  imbibed  through  the  reading  of  the  works 
of  untruthful,  reckless  or  mercenary  writers. 

The  Inquisition  was  established  in  1478,  by  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  then  the  reigning  monarchs  of  Spain,  with  the  consent,  of 
course,  of  Pope  Sixtus  IV,  Spain  being  a  Catholic  country  and  the 
approval  of  the  Pope  being  necessary  for  the  creation  of  any  trial 
tribunal  in  that  country — whether  civil  or  ecclesiastical.  To  quote 
the  language  of  the  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  second  bishop  of 
the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne,  in  order  "to  understand  the  Inquisi- 
tion we  must  know  the  religion,  social  and  political  state  of  Spain 
four  centuries  ago,  toward  the  close  of  a  war  of  nearly  eight  hun- 
dred years  against  the  foreign  invaders  of  the  country — against  the 
oppressors  of  its  civil  and  religious  liberty."  To  further  quote 
from  the  same  reverend  author,  who  had  evidently  studied  the  ques- 
tion with  a  clear  and  unbiased  mind,  and  had  prepared,  but  a  few 
years  before  his  lamented  death,  an  exhaustive,  yet  compendious 

(652r 


IN    THE    STATK    OK    INDIANA. 

treatise,  so  to  speak,  on  this  subject,  we  (]iiotc  him,  ahnost  in  full, 
in  the  following  paragraphs: 

The    most    important    work    in    modern    times    regarding    the 
Spanish  Inquisition  is  the  "Critical  History  of  the   Spanish  Inqui- 
sition," in  four  volumes,  by  Juan  Antonio  Llorente.      As  his  work 
is  so  universally  followed  by  a  certain   class  of  writers,  it   may  be 
well  to  say  something  about  the   author  and  his  work.      Llorente 
was  secretary  of  the  Inquisition  in  Madrid  from  1789  to  1791,  and 
again  connected  with  it  for  a  short  time  in  1793.      He  tells  us  that 
from  1808  to  181 1  the  archives  of  the   Inquisition  were   placed  at 
his  disposal;  that  he  copied  papers  that  had  a  historical  value  and 
then  burned  them.      These  documentar}'  extracts  give  the  work  its 
real  value;  they  are  its  best   refutation.      We   know  that  the  cases 
and  documents  communicated  were   selected  by  an  acknowledged 
bitter  enemy  of  the  Catholic  church  and  of  the  Inquisition.     Aside 
from  these   documentary  extracts  Llorente 's  work  is   the  greatest 
tissue    of    falsehood,    conjecture,    and   contradiction   that   can   be 
imagined.      He  was  a  man  without   principle;  he  tells  us  that  as 
early  as  1784  he  had  lost  all  faith,  yet  he  continued  f  r  years  his 
priestly  functions;  in  1795  a  liberal,  and  arrested   for  plotting   the 
overthrow  of  the  church  and  the  kingdom,  we  find  him  in  1  805  in  the 
pay  of  absolute  tyranny,  writing  a  book  against  the  constitutional 
liberties  [the  fueros)  of  the  Basque  provinces;  in  1808,  a  traitor  to 
his  king  and  nation,  he  becomes  a  servant  of  Joseph    Bonaparte; 
although  still  pretending  to  be  a  priest,  he  is  the  Thomas  Crom- 
well of  Spain,  and  at  the  head  of  the  commission  for  confiscating 
the  churches,   convents  and  property  of  religious  orders;  and  he 
loses   this   place   only  when    accused    of    stealing   and  embezzling 
1 1,000,000  reals. 

After  writing  the  History  of  the  Inquisition  we  find  him  trans- 
lating a  most  obscene  work,  "Adventures  of  de  Faublas,"  and 
giving  vent  to  his  bitter  enmity  against  the  Catholic  church  in  his 
"Political  Portraits  of  the  Popes."  His  statements  about  Greg- 
ory the  Great,  Gregory  VII,  and  the  crusades  are  the  ravings  of  a 
madman;  no  sane  writer  has  dared  to  utter  such  nonsense,  how- 
ever great  his  prejudice  and  bitter  hatred.  Llorente  is  an  untruth- 
ful historian;  in   spite  of  the    plain   statement  of  Holy  Scripture, 

"(658) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

he  asserts  that  St.  Paul  the  Apostle  was  a  married  man;  according 
to  him,  St.  Justin  wrote  before  the  time  of  St.  Ignatius  the  Martyr; 
he  considers  the  heathen  Appollonius  of  Tyana  to  be  a  heretic; 
he  believes  in  the  exploded  fable  of  Pope  Joan;  he  asserts  that 
the  conflict  of  Gregory  VII  was  with  Henry  III  instead  of  Henry 
IV;  in  the  history  of  his  own  country,  at  the  very  time  the  Inqui- 
sition was  instituted,  he  betrays  his  ignorance  by  asserting  that 
Philip  the  Fair  still  lived  in  1516  and  in  1517,  although  he  died  ten 
ten  years  before  this;  he  does  not  know  that  the  Count  of  Arcos 
and  the  Marquis-Duke  of  Cadiz,  the  greatest  hero  in  the  conquest  of 
Granada,  was  the  one  and  the  same  personage,  Ponce  de  Leon — 
a  mistake  as  great  and  inexcusable  as  if  a  writer  on  American 
history  should  assert  that  the  President  Washington  and  the  Gen- 
eral George  Washington  were  two  different  persons!  According 
to  this  author,  Bavaria  and  Russia  are  among  the  countries  that 
became  Protestant  in  the  sixteenth  century;  Russia  and  the  Greek 
church  would  still  be  united  with  Rome  if  Leo  X  had  been  more 
yielding  and  lenient!  Verily,  we  would  punish  a  school-boy  if  he 
should  make  such  blunders;  but  this  is  the  great  historical  oracle 
Llorente!  Later  on  we  shall  see  what  reliance  we  can  place  on 
the  number  of  victims  given  by  him. 

In  the  historians  of  Spain,  especially  Mariana,  Ferreres, 
Zurita,  Blancas,  and  the  contemporaries  Pulgar,  Peter  Mart\r, 
Bernaldez,  Marineo  Siculo,  and  in  the  authentic  public  documents, 
we  have  abundant  historical  material  to  give  us  a  correct  idea  of 
the  Spanish  Inquisition.  Amongst  modern  writers,  Hefele's  "Car- 
dinal Ximenes  "  contains  the  best  and  most  correct  dissertation  on 
the  subject.  A  modern  work  of  great  importance  and  but  little 
known  was  published  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century  in  Ger- 
many by  the  non-Catholic  historians  Spitler  and  Reus,  viz: 
"Reus'  Collection  of  Instructions  and  Documents  concerning  the 
Spanish  Inquisition." 

Every  church  or  denomination  that  has  a  creed,  a  discipline, 
and  a  church  authority,  has  also  a  tribunal,  an  inquisition  or  trial, 
to  preserve  the  purity  of  faith,  to  punish  transgressions  of  disci- 
pline. Even  amongst  the  different  Protestant  denominations  we 
hear  of   trials  not    only  for    matters    of    discipline,   but    also    for 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

heresy.  The  CathoHc  church  h;is  tier  well-deiiiied  creed,  from 
which  to  swerve  is  heresy  or  error;  her  well-known  laws  of  disci- 
pline, her  regular  rulers  and  judges,  the  Pope  and  the  bishops  of 
the  church.  These  judges  must  take  cognizance  of  any  innova- 
tion in  faith,  especially  when  it  is  claimed  to  be  )io  innovation; 
these  judges  must  punish  heresy,  the  known,  public  and  contu- 
macious departure  from  the  ancient  faith,  and  apostasy,  l)e  it 
apostasy  from  faith  or  from  an  ecclesiastical  religious  dignity  or 
duty.  The  punishments  are  the  censures  of  the  church,  viz: 
excommunication,  suspension  and  interdict. 

Every  Catholic  moral  theology  explains  these  censures,  every 
Catholic  work  on   canon   law  explains   the   cases  when  and    how 
these  ecclesiastical  punishments  ought  to  be  inflicted,  what  public 
penance  ought  to  be  done  by  those  who  of  their  own  choice  desire 
to  be  reconciled    with    the    church.      The    Catholic    church    as    a 
church    knows  only    these    ecclesiastical  punishments;   any  other 
corporal  punishment  was  the   outgrowth  of   time   and   the   police 
regulation    of    the    state.      When    the   Roman    emperors    became 
Christians  they  could  not  divest  themselves  of  the  idea  that  in  pagan 
times   they   had    been    high    priests,     "  Pontifex    Maximus;"    they 
occasionally    issued   edicts    on    religious  matters,     mostly    against 
idolatry,   some  against   heretics,    some,   by    the   Arian    and    other 
heretical  emperors,  against  the  Catholics.      When  Priscillian,    A. 
D.,  385,  appealed  from   his  ecclesiastical   judges,    the    council    of 
Bordeaux,  to  the  Emperor  Maximus,  and  was  condemned  to  death, 
St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Martin  of  Tours  condemned   the  shedding  of 
blood  for  heresy.      On  the  other  hand,  the  Catholics  suffered  bitter 
persecutions  from  the  Arian   emperors    Constantius    and    Valens. 
from  the  Goths,  and  especially  from  the  Arian  Vandals  in  Africa. 
Not  only  during  the  middle  ages  was  heresy  considered  a  crime 
against  the  state  punishable  with  death;  even  after   the   Reforma- 
tion it  was  the  law  of  many  Protestant  countries,   yea,  it  is  found 
on  the  statutes  of  some  of  our  American  colonies.      We  shall  not 
expatiate  on    this   unpleasant    subject;    none  have    suffered    more 
from  the  intolerance  of  the  times  than  Catholics.      A  remarkable 
fact  is  that  the  most  liberal  and  cultured  emperor  of  the  middle  ages. 
Frederick  II,  a  man  without  faith,  should  have  published  the  most 

(655) 


A    HISTORY    Op-    CATHOLICITY 

Stringent  laws  known,  and  ordered  heretics  to  be  burned.  (Edict 
of  Padua,  1239.)  It  may  be  pleaded  in  explanation  of  these 
stringent  laws  that  nearly  all  heretics  commenced  with  murder 
and  rapine;  they  were  in  most  cases  really  rebels  and  traitors  by 
teaching  that  only  they,  the  elect,  had  a  right  to  rule  or  even  to 
possess  property;  they  were  mostly  Manichctans  who  taught  and 
practiced  the  most  horrible  crimes.  The  war  against  the  Albigenses 
and  Raymond  of  Toulouse  was  more  political  than  religious. 
France  wanted  the  sovereignty  over  the  Provence  and  Languedoc; 
Simon  Montfort  wanted  the  tiefs  and  possessions  of  the  richest 
prince  of  that  age;  and  Raymond  of  Toulouse,  a  thoroughly  bad 
man,  who  had  three  wives  living,  provoked  and  commenced  the 
war  by  spoliation  and  murder.  Peter  of  Aragon,  instead  of  foster- 
ing the  Inquisition  against  the  Albigenses,  as  Prescott  would  have 
us  believe,  fell  in  the  battle  of  Muret,  12  13,  fighting  in  their  favor. 
For  many  centuries  the  regular  courts  of  the  Catholic  church 
exercised  their  jurisdiction,  and  sometimes  inflicted  ecclesiastical 
censures,  when  toward  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  a  new 
court  was  instituted  in  Spain  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  After 
the  battle  of  Xeres  de  la  Frontera,  711,  when  the  Gothic  kingdom 
of  Spain  was  overthrown,  the  wars  of  the  little  Christian  remnant 
against  the  Moors  were  nearly  constantly  waged;  but  they  had  been 
only  feebly  carried  on  for  nearly  two  hundred  years  before  the  time 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  Christian  Spain  was  divided  into  fac- 
tions, devastated  by  civil  wars,  sons  of  kings  frequently  fighting 
against  their  father,  brothers  against  brother;  kings  were  frequently 
incapable  and  immoral. 

The  two  reigns  in  Castile  and  Leon  before  Isabella,  John  II 
and  Henry  VI,  were  called  the  reigns  of  minors.  The  only  thing 
that  prevented  the  entire  overthrow  of  the  Christian  power  in 
Spain,  and  preserved  the  Christian  religion,  was  that  the  Moors 
were  also  divided  and  generally  engaged  in  civil  war.  At  length 
all  Christian  Spain,  hitherto  divided  between  many  petty  kings  and 
princes,  was  united  under  the  able  rule  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 
The  nation  rose  to  a  new  life.  The  wars  against  the  enemies  of 
their  religion  and  nationality  were  resumed  with  the  greatest 
enthusiasm;  the  domestic  administration  was  thoroughly  reformed, 

<656) 


IN    THE    STATE    OE    INDIANA. 

finances  placed  in  better  shape,  the  courts  of  justice  entirely 
remodeled;  a  state  of  things  such  as  could  be  found  in  no  other 
country  was  the  cause  of  the  institution  of  that  court  called  the 
Spanish  Inquisition. 

Even  if  we  do  not  believe  in  legendary  reports,  attested  by 
memorial  stones  of  doubtful  authenticity,  that  the  Jews  had  settled 
in  Spain  during  the  time  of  King  Solomon,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  from  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies,  or  at  least  from  the  first  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era,  many  Jews  lived  in  Spain.  Public 
documents,  such  as  public  laws  and  the  decrees  of  councils,  prove 
to  us  not  only  their  great  numbeis,  but  also  the  perhaps  unique 
fact  that  here  they  practiced  proselytism  to  a  very  great  extent. 
The  council  of  Elvira,  303-313.  canon  16,  forbids  the  frequent 
intermarriages  with  Jews,  and  also  to  call  on  them  to  bless  the 
fields.  The  Third  council  of  Toledo,  589,  not  only  renews  the 
prohibition  of  intermarriages,,  but  also  attests  that  the  Jews  were 
largely  engaged  in  the  slave-trade  and  circumcised  their  slaves  by 
force.  The  Fourth  council  of  Toledo,  633,  forbids  that  Jews  be 
forced  to  become  Christians.  Canon  57  and  canon  59  say  that 
many  outwardly  Christians  were  secretly  Jews.  At  the  end  of  the 
seventh  century,  when  northern  Africa  was  already  conquered  by 
the  Saracens,  the  Jews  of  Spain  entered  with  them  into  a  con- 
spiracy to  overthrow  the  Gothic  kingdom.  This  was  discovered 
by  King  Egica,  the  Saracens  were  driven  back  this  time,  and  not 
all  the  Jews,  as  Prescott  tells  us,  but  only  those  who  were  found 
actually  guilty  of  treason  and  rebellion,  were  sentenced  to  slavery, 
as  we  learn  from  the  Eighth  canon  of  the  Seventeenth  council  of 
Toledo. 

During  the  reign  of  the  Saracens,  the  Jews  in  Spain  acquired 
wealth,  power,  influence,  and  office;  they  had  flourishing  schools 
and  colleges  in  Granada,  Cordova,  Toledo  and  Barcelona.  Espe- 
cially in  natural  sciences,  they  had  men  of  universal  fame;  in  fact, 
in  Spain  the  Jews  acquired  a  culture  and  possessed  an  influence 
which  they  reached  in  no  other  part  of  the  world.  Although  the 
religious  wars  against  the  Moors  frequently  brought  the  Jews  in 
danger,  as  many  saw  in  them  foes  more  dangerous  than  the 
Saracens,    yet,    protected    by    such    Popes    as    Alexander    II    and 

39  -((357) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

Gregory  VII,  they  acquired  even  in  christian  Spain,  especially 
from  the  time  of  Alphonsus  X,  the  astrologer,  an  influence,  a 
power,  that  was  quite  exceptional.  Medicine  and  pharmacy  were 
almost  entirely  in  their  hands.  We  meet  them  as  ministers  of 
finance  and  favorites  of  kings;  they  had  their  own  judges,  and 
were  judged  by  their  own  laws;  like  grandees  and  noblemen,  they 
could  be  arrested  and  imprisoned  only  by  the  express  mandate  of 
the  king;  they  were,  as  the  liberal  cortes  of  1812  declared,  a  nation 
within  a  nation. 

From  a  public  address  of  Peter  the  Venerable  of  Clugny,  we 
learn  that  for  a  time  at  least  a  law  existed  that  stolen  goods,  even 
sacred  vessels  of  the  churches,  if  found  in  the  hands  of  Jews  could 
not  be  recovered,  nor  could  they  be  forced  to  reveal  the  thief. 
When  we  remember  that  during  the  national  wars  the  Jews  nearly 
always  sided  with  the  Moors;  that  in  Castile,  during  the  war 
between  Peter  the  Cruel  and  Henry  II,  they  sided  with  the 
former;  that  the  able  and  good  King  Henry  III  was  poisoned  by 
his  Jewish  physician;  that  in  1473  the  Jews  entered  into  a  con- 
spiracy to  gain  possession  of  Gibraltar — we  can  understand  that 
occasional  reaction  set  in,  local  riots  and  massacres  took  place, 
especially  in  Navarre. 

There  existed  also  in  Spain  a  large  number  of  persons,  out- 
wardly and  professedly  Christians,  who  secretly  were  Jews  or 
inclined  to  Judaism.  These  Maranos,  or  Christian  Jews,  were 
exceedingly  numerous;  we  are  told  that  when  the  Inquisition  was 
established  in  Seville,  and  proclamation  was  made  that  all  who 
were  guilty  should  come  forward,  acknowledge  their  faults,  and  if 
penitent  be  absolved  and  escape  punishment,  17,000  came  for- 
ward and  were  absolved.  In  the  same  manner  5,000,  when  the 
court  of  Inquisition  was  held  in  Toledo.  These  Maranos  insinu- 
ated themselves  into  the  highest  offices,  not  only  in  the  state,  but 
even  in  the  church.  Thus  we  have  the  example  of  Peter  Aranda, 
Catholic  bishop  of  Calahorra  at  the  time  the  Inquisition  was  insti- 
tuted, who  by  lOi  witnesses,  called  by  him  for  his  defense  to 
Rome,  was  unanimously  proven  to  be  secretly  a  Jew.  They 
intermarried  with  the  first  families  of  the  land,  and  actually  used 
their  whole  wealth  and  influence  to  make  all  Spain  a  Jewish  king- 

(H5«) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

dom.      That  a  most  intense  Jewish  propaganda  was  carried  on  at 
the  time  of    Ferdinand  and   Isabella  is  a  fact  admitted   by  all  his- 
torians, even  by  I^lorente  in  a  former  work,  and  also  their  connec- 
tion with  the   Moors   when   Mahometan   power  was  anything  but 
dead.      It  was  especially  against  these  Maranos  that  the  inquisition, 
was  instituted.      The  general  opinion  is  that    Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella obtained  the  consent  of   Pope  Si.xtus  IV   for  the  erection  of 
this  religious  and  political  court,  November    i,   I47(S.      Bernaldez 
and    Zuniga,    contemporary   historians,    mention    the    year    1480. 
Pulgar   also   seems   to    indicate   this.      Certain    it  is    that  the   first 
court  of   the  Inquisition  at   Seville  was  only  organized    January  2, 
1481;   and    if    determined     upon    in     1478,    milder     means,    viz., 
instruction  and  preaching,  were  used  for  the  space  of  two  years  to 
bring  back   the   apostates.      Llorente's   assertion   that    the    Papal 
Nuncio  Nicolo  Franco  favored  the  institution  of   the  Inquisition, 
may  be  doubted.      From   the  diplomatic  documents  on  the  Inqui- 
sition published  by  Reus  and   Spitler,  it  is  evident  that  Sixtus  IV 
was   so  opposed  to  this  peculiar   court,  that   he  reluctantly  con- 
sented   only  when   a  total  rupture  of  diplomatic  intercourse    was 
threatened.      Prescott  refers  this  difficulty  to  the  appointment  of  a 
bishop;  the    docanients  show   that  the   Inquisition   was   the    main 
cause.      It  is   not  probable  that  the   papal  legate  would  favor  what 
the  Pope    so  bitterly  opposed.      Prescott's  assertion   that    Queen 
Isabella  was  at  first  reluctant   is  certainly  false,  because  all   the 
Papal    briefs     regarding     the    institution    of     the    Inquisition    are 
answers  to  the  queen's  letter;  it  was  instituted    in  her  kingdom;  all 
the  judges  of   the   first   court  at  Seville,  as   well  as  Torquemada, 
were  her  subjects;   and   we   know   how  jealously  she   guarded   her 
right  of    governing  her   kingdom,  especially  in  matters  relating  to 
religion. 

For  a  long  time  prior  to  the  institution  of  the  Inquisition, 
nearly  every  cortes  of  Castile  and  Leon  had  detnanded  that  some 
steps  should  be  taken  to  guard  the  state  against  the  Maranos;  the 
most  outspoken,  the  most  emphatic,  in  this  demand  was  the  cortes 
of  Toledo  in  1 480,  and  we  shall  not  be  mistaken  if  we  take  the 
institution  of  the  Inquisition  in  1481  as  an  answer  to  this  demand. 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  appointed  as  the  first  judges  of  the  Inquisi- 

(659) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

tion  Michael  Murillo  and  Juan  Martin,  Dominicans,  with  two  secular 
priests,  Juan  Ruiz  and  Juan  Lopez  del  Barca;  its  full  and  complete 
organization  it  acquired  two  years  later,  when  Thomas  Torquemada 
was  appointed  grand  inquisitor  of  Spain,  and  published  a  full  .code 
of  laws,  instructions  and  mode  of  procedure — the  so-called  statute 
of  Valladolid. 

The  first  inquisitors  of  Seville  commenced  their  official  career 
January  2,   1481,  by  publishing  two  decrees  or  edicts;  in  the  first 
they  enumerated  several  signs  by  which  the  apostasy  of  a  pretended 
Christian  to  Judaism  could  be  known;  in  the  second  they  appointed 
a  period  of  grace,  calling  on   all    who   knew    themselves  guilty  of 
apostasy  to  present  themselves  and  do  penance,  when  they  would 
be  absolved  and  escape  all  severe  punishment.      In  regard  to  the 
first   decree,    Llorente  indignantly   remarks  that   the    twenty-two 
signs  enumerated  would  at  present  not  be  considered  valid  grounds 
for  suspicion.      Prescott    copies  Llorente.      Fortunately    Llorente 
gives  us  the  edict  in  full  (Vol.  I,  pages  i  54-158),  and  refutes  himself 
most  conclusively.     Even  one  born  of  christian  ancestry,  and  much 
more  one  of  Jewish  descent,  would  be  justly  suspected  of  apostasy 
to  Judaism  if  he  showed  the  signs   and   observed  the   Jewish  ritual 
in  the    manner  indicated.      Prescott,  omitting    the  more   weighty 
signs,  is  guilty  of   verv    nonsensical   twaddle,  noting  as  one  of  the 
signs  the  Hebrew  names  given  to  the  children,  stating  that  by  a  law 
of  Henry  H  they  were   forbidden   to   give  their  children   christian 
names.      The  Spanish  laws  were   never  guilty  of  such  silly  contra- 
diction; one  law  applies  to  the  Christians,  the  other  to   the  Jews. 
In  fact    Prescott    and    a    large    class   of   writers   cannot   make  the 
distinction  between  Jews  and  those  who  were  baptized  and  professed 
to  be  Christians  and    apostatized    secretly   to  Judaism.      No  Jew, 
and   afterward    no    Mahometan,    was    amenable    to    the    Spanish 
Inquisition  for  being  a   Jew  or  a   Mahometan;  only  apostasy  from 
the  embraced  or  professed  Christian  religion  was  punishable.    Pres- 
cott calls  the  edict  announcing  a  period  of   grace  and  calling  upon 
the  penitent  to  confess  and  be  absolved  as  delusive,  and  speaks  of 
the   tines,  confiscations  of    property,  and  perpetual  imprisonment 
of  those  who  so  confessed.      This  is  downright  falsehood — an  asser- 
tion contrary  to  all  proof  and  reason. 

1 600) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

Llorente  tells  us  in  one  place  that  the  court  of  IiK]uisition  of 
Seville  for  that  city  and  Andalusia  the  first  year  condemned  tw(j 
thousand  persons  to  death,  quoting  the  celebrated  Spanish  histo- 
rian, Mariana.  Both  Mariana  and  Pulgar  state  that  till  the  end  of 
Torquemada's  administration  (1498)  about  two  thousand  were 
condemned  to  death.  In  another  place  Llorente  gives  298  as  the 
victims  of  Seville  (148 1),  and  to  carry  on  the  lie  attributes  the 
other  1702  to  Cadiz;  but  he  forgets  that  he  himself  admits  that  up 
to  1483  only  one  court,  viz,  that  of  Seville,  existed.  We  kn<nv 
also  from  public  documents,  such  as  the  bull  of  Sixtus  IV,  that  the 
court  of  Seville  was  instituted  for  the  whole  kingdofii  of  Castile  and 
Leon. 

Thomas  Torquemada,  prior  of  the  Dominican  convent  of 
Segovia,  was  made  grand  inquisitor  in  1483,  first  of  Castile  and 
Leon,  and  in  October  of  the  same  year  also  for  Aragon.  Tribunals 
were  elected  this  year  in  Seville,  Cordova.  Jaen,  and  Villa  Real, 
soon  afterward  transferred  to  Toledo.  Shortly  afterward  there 
were  twelve  tribunals  of  the  Inquisition  in  Spain — seven  in  the 
former  kingdom  of  Castile  and  Leon,  and  five  in  Aragon. 

Modern  historians  of  any  note,  like  Ranke,  Leo,  Guizot,  Le- 
normant,  yea,  even  Llorente,  admit  that  the  Spanish  Inquisition 
was  a  political  and  state  institution,  not  a  religious  institution  of 
the  Catholic  church.  The  judges  were  not  the  ordinary  judges  of 
the  Catholic  church;  they  were  appointed,  suspended,  and  removed 
by  the  king,  as  the  liberal  cortes  of  1812  tell  us;  all  the  laws  and 
statutes  were  published  in  the  name  of  the  king;  all  the  fines  and 
confiscations  went  to  the  royal  exchequer.  When  Cardinal  Xim- 
enes  objected  to  one  of  the  lay  judges,  King  Ferdinand  the  Catholic 
curtly  remarked:  "  It  is  the  king  from  whom  he  has  his  jurisdic- 
tion and  authority."  Llorente's  attempted  prosecution  of  Charles 
V  and  Philip  II  by  the  Inquisition  is  a  myth.  The  cjuestion  was 
raised  in  Rome  whether  Charles  V,  then  at  war  with  Paul  I\',  was 
not  favoring  the  heretics  in  Germany.  Rome  later  on  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  royal  theologian,  Melchior  Canus,  not  Philip, 
should  be  prosecuted;  but  the  king  forbade  it. 

The  fact  that  quite  a  number  of  these  judges  were  ecclesiastics 
does  not  prove   that   the   Inquisition  was  a  religious    court.      We 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

know  that  Sir  Thomas  More  was  the  first  layman  who  held  the 
office  of  grand  chancelor  of  England.  Up  to  that  time  England's 
supreme  judge  was  always  an  ecclesiastic;  it  was  the  rule  of  the 
middle  ages,  for  evident  reasons,  to  select  the  judges  from  the 
ecclesiastical  state.  The  Spanish  Inquisition,  instead  of  being  a 
monument  of  the  religious  despotism  of  the  Roman  pontiffs,  was, 
according  to  Ranke,  always  opposed  by  the  Popes  whenever  they 
could  do  so.  The  Inquisition  was  instituted  hardly  one  year  when 
Sixtus  IV,  January  29,  1482,  declared  that  his  consent  was  obtained 
by  false  representations;  that  only  the  general  plan  had  been 
exposed  to  him;  that  the  Inquisitions  of  Seville  had  acted  cruelly 
and  unjustly,  and  that  he  now  refrained  from  punishing  them  with 
ecclesiastical  censures  on  account  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 
Prescott's  statement  that  the  compunction  of  the  Pope  was  but 
transient,  that  he  shortly  afterwards  quieted  the  scruples  of  the 
O-ueen  respecting  the  appropriation  of  confiscated  property,  that 
he  urged  the  sovereigns  to  proceed,  etc.,  is  not  historic  truth. 
Llorente  gives  us  the  Papal  briefs  spoken  of,  namely,  29th  Jan- 
uary, 23d  February,  and  2d  August,  1483.  In  the  brief  of  January 
29,  he  declares  that  he  believes  the  assertion  of  the  Queen  that  she 
persecutes  heresy,  or  rather  apostasy,  not  on  account  of  financial 
gain;  he  praises  the  ecclesiastical  Inquisition  of  Sicily,  and  not  the 
state  Inquisition  of  Spain;  he  refuses  his  approbation  to  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Inquisition  as  asked  by  the  Queen,  st  iting  that  the  old' 
ecclesiastical  episcopal  courts  were  sufficient. 

February  23,  the  Pope  appointed  Don  Inigo  Manrique,  arch- 
bishop of  Seville,  to  receive  appeals  from  the  sentence  of  the 
Inquisitors  in  matters  of  heresy;  and  as  all  this  was  not  sufficient, 
in  the  brief  of  August  2,  he  complains  that  as  appeals  to  said  arch- 
bishop were  often  hindered,  he  would  himself  hear  appeals.  He 
warns  most  earnestly  against  too  great  severity;  he  receives  under 
his  protection  those  that  are  penitent;  he  demands  their  pardon, 
even  if  they  had  allowed  the  period  of  grace  to  transpire;  he 
demands  from  the  sovereigns  that  the  property  of  the  penitent 
should  not  be  confiscated.  If  a  temporal  prince  or  government 
had  published  such  a  humane,  mild  edict,  Llorente  would  not  have 
found  enough  words  of  praise.      From  this  time  on  the  Pope  fre- 


IN    THE    STATE    Ol'    INDIANA. 

quently  received  appeals,  and  (jftcn  directly  absolved  or  ordered 
the  secret  absolution  of  penitent  apostates  in  order  to  preserve 
their  honor  and  property;  thus  even  Llorente  mentions  five  Papal 
decrees  of  absolution  in  the  year  i486;  each  of  the  four  first  ordered 
the  absolution  of  lifty  penitents.  We  know  not  how  many  in  vir- 
tue of  the  fifth  decree,  but  we  do  know  that  the  Pope  at  one  time 
absolved  two  hundred  and  fifty  victims  of  the  Spanish  state  Inqui- 
sition in  Rome,  and  all  the  terrible  penance  they  had  to  do  was  to 
visit  some  churches  and  say  some  prayers.  Llorente  mentions  a 
large  number  of  cases  in  which  Julius  II  and  Leo  X  received 
appeals,  granted  special  judges,  restrained  the  severity  of  the  Inqui- 
sition, granted  pardons,  etc.;  and  certainly  Llorente,  who  hates 
the  Pope  as  the  devil  does  the  cross,  does  not  present  the  thing  in 
too  favorable  a  light. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  readily  preceived  that  the  Pope 
received  appeals  because  heresy  and  apostasy  were  religious  mat- 
ters, pertaining  to  him;  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  demanded  that 
every  appeal  should  be  to  the  state  courts.  So  pronounced  was 
the  opposition  of  the  Pope  to  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  that  as  early 
as  1498  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  decreed  banishment  and  confisca- 
tion of  property  against  any  one  who  should  appeal  to  Rome;  in 
1509  Ferdinand  decreed  even  death  against  any  one  who  should 
procure  a  brief  or  bull  against  the  Inquisition.  Leo  X  excom- 
municated all  the  members  of  the  tribunal  of  Toledo  for  their 
severity  (15  19);  he  demanded  that  false  witnesses  should  be  pun- 
ished, and,  in  some  cases,  even  be  put  to  death;  he  declared  the 
Inquisition  to  be  a  great  evil.  Gregory  XIII  was  the  greatest  pro- 
tector of  the  Moriscos.  Paul  III  protected  those  who  opposed  its 
introduction  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  Pius  IV  and  his  great- 
nephew,  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  resisted  its  introduction  in  Milan — 
then  subject  to  Spain. 

Llorente  openly  admitted  that  the  Popes  were  always  opposed 
to  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  whilst  the  kings  of  Spain  always  favored 
it.  The  case  of  Bartholomew  Carranza,  archbishop  of  Toledo  and 
primate  of  all  Spain,  is  celebrated  in  history.  Arrested  in  1557  in 
Valladolid  by  the  Inquisition  at  the  command  of  Philip  II,  he  was 
kept  eight  years  in  prison  for  no  reason  but  the  royal  displeasure. 

(663) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

notwithstanding  the  energetic  protest  of  the  council  of  Trent,  then 
in  session,  to  whose  petition  Paul  IV  declared  that  he  had  com- 
manded every  nuncio  sent  to  Spain  to  demand  the  liberation  of 
Carranza. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Spanish  Inquisition  was 
emphatically  a  state  institution;  all  historians  of  note  admit  this. 
In  order  to  understand  the  real  true  aim  of  this  political  state  tri- 
bunal, we  should  bear  in  mind  the  political  condition  of  Spain. 
It  is  a  very  common  opinion  that  the  mediaeval  age  was  the  time 
of  absolute  rule  of  sovereigns;  that  as  we  approach  modern  times 
the  liberties  of  the  people  increased.  This  is  not  true  with  regard 
to  the  middle  ages;  the  beginning  of  the  modern  age  was  the 
growth  of  absolutism.  The  old  Gothic  institutions  in  Spain  were 
kept  up  during  the  middle  ages;  the  royal  power  was  very  much 
limited  by  the  cortes,  composed  of  the  nobility,  clergy,  and  the 
representatives  of  cities;  every  kingdom  in  Spain  was  essentially 
and  thoroughly  a  constitutional  monarchy.  Nearly  a  hundred 
years  before  England  had  its  parliament,  Spain  had  its  cortes. 
Nearly  every  city  had  its  charter.  The  nobility  as  well  as  the 
higher  clergy  had  gained  such  power,  wealth,  privileges,  that  roy- 
alty was  powerless  to  oppose  them.  A  noble  of  the  first  class  had 
under  certain  circumstances  a  legal  right  to  wage  war  even  against 
his  king.  The  archbishop  of  Toledo,  the  grand  masters  of  the 
three  military  orders,  several  of  the  nobility,  had  a  greater  income 
and  could  raise  a  greater  army  than  the  king;  this  was  especially 
the  case  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
owing  to  the  incapacity,  weakness,  and  extravagance  of  the  pre- 
ceding reigns.  In  no  country  of  Europe  was  the  royal  power  so 
weak  and  circumscribed  as  in  Spain.  When,  therefore,  national 
as  well  as  religious  feeling  clamored  for  a  new  tribunal  against  the 
Maranos,  sharp,  shrewd,  and  far-seeing  Ferdinand  saw  his  oppor- 
tunity; a  new  court  was  instituted,  apparently  sacred  in  its  char- 
ter, upheld  by  the  national  and  religious  feeling  of  the  Spanish 
nation,  the  warlike  descendants  of  the  brave  and  warlike  Goths; 
a  court  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  crown,  to  which  every  one 
was  subject  who  had  hitherto  claimed  immunity  or  privilege — every 
bishop  as  well  as  the  highest  noble.     The  great   Protestant   histo- 

(fi64) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

rian  Ranke,  in  his   "  Princes  and  People,"   expresses   this  pohtical 
aim  of  the   Inquisition    so   well,  that    we   translate  and    give    his 
words:    "  In   the   first    place,  the    judges    of  the    Inquisition    were 
royal  of^cers.      The  king  had  the  right  to  nominate  and  to  dismiss 
them;  among  the  different  councils   of  the   royal  cabinet  was   a 
council  of  the  Inquisition;  like  every  other  branch  of  government, 
the  tribunals  of  the  Inquisition  were  subject  to  royal  visitation  and 
revision;  in  it  frequently  the  same  men  were  associate  judges  who 
composed  the  supreme  court  of  Castile.    ■•   '••    "   Secondly,  all  profits 
derived  from  the  confiscations  ordered  by   this  court   went   to   the 
king.      *  '■•    •■•   The  proceeds  of  these  fines  and  confiscations  formed 
a  regular  revenue   of  the   royal  exchequer.      *  '"   '^'    Thirdly,  in   it 
state  government  received  its  full  completion;  the  king   had  in  his 
hands  a  court  from  which  no  grandee,  no   archbishop,  could  claim 
exemption.      This  was  especially   remarked    by    foreigners.      The 
Inquisition,  as  Segni  says,  is  instituted  to   strip  the  rich   of  their 
wealth,  the  mighty  of  their  power.      When   Charles  V  knows   no 
other  way  or  means  to  punish  the  bishops  who  had   taken   part  in 
the  revolt  of  the  Communidads,  he  orders  them  to   be  judged   by 
the  Inquisition.      When  Philip  II  despairs  of  every  other  means  of 
punishing  his  former  prime  minister,  Antonio  Perez,  he  makes  use 
of  the  Inquisition.     As  this  court  is   based   upon  royal   authority, 
its  actions  are  in  the  interest  of  royal  power.      ""'  *  ''^    In   its  con- 
ception and  aim  the  Inquisition  is  primarily  a  political  institution. 
The  Pope  has  an  interest  to  oppose  it;  he  does  so  as  often  as  he 
can;  the  king  has  an  interest  always  to  support  it." 

These  words  of  Leopold  Ranke  are  very  true.  It  is  true  of  the 
Spanish  Inquisition  what  the  edict  of  Joseph  I  says  of  Portugal, 
"  that  the  Inquisition  was  also  instituted  to  judge  civil  cases  of  the 
privileged  classes."  Hence  the  remarkable  fact,  that  whilst  the 
Inquisition  was  exceedingly  popular  with  the  masses  of  the  people, 
it  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  bishops  and  the  higher  nobility.  In 
Aragon  more  than  in  any  other  kingdom  or  province  of  Spain  an 
independent  liberal  spirit  prevailed,  and  the  absolute  power  of  the 
king  was  opposed;  the  ecclesiastical  inquisition  of  the  Catholic 
church  was  endured  without  a  murmur;  yet  when  (1485)  Ferdinand 
attempted  to  introduce  the  new  state   Inquisition,  the  first  inquis- 

(665) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

itor,  Don  Pedro  Arbues  de  Epila,  although  called  by  all  contem- 
porary writers  a  saintly,  learned  and  mild  man — not  a  monk — was 
murdered  bythe  higher  nobility.  The  assertion  of  Prescott  that  these 
higher  nobles  were  descendants  of  Jewish  families  is  entirely  ground- 
less; he  forgets  that  all  contemporary  writers  state  that  there  were 
very  few  Jews  in  the  kingdom  of  Aragon;  in  fact,  in  all  Aragon 
they  had  only  thirteen  synagogues  (nineteen  in  1428);  it  was  not 
because  they  were  Maranos  and  inclined  to  Judaism,  but  because 
they  saw  in  it  a  political  lever  to  attain  absolute  power  that  they 
opposed  it.  This  explains  also  why  the  Marquis  of  Pombal,  so  bit- 
terly opposed  to  the  Jesuits,  was  a  friend  of  the  state  Inquisition;  in 
fact,  it  was  this  tribunal  he  used  for  their  expulsion  and  for  the 
murder  of  P.  Malagrida. 

Because  the  Inquisition  was  most  intimately  connected  with 
an  absolute  form  of  government  it  was  doomed  to  fall  with  abso- 
lutism. Briefly  and  concisely  this  is  expressed  in  the  decree  of  the 
Spanish  cortes,  18 13:  "The  Inquisition  is  incompatible  with  the 
constitution."  When,  at  the  return  of  Ferdinand  VH,  1814,  the 
constitution  was  abolished,  the  Inquisition  was  restored;  when,  1820, 
a  constitution  was  proclaimed,  the  Inquisition  was  abolished  for 
the  last  time.  The  Inquisition  stood  and  fell  with  political  abso- 
lutism. 

It  seems  to  be  a  very  common  opinion  that  the  fines  and  con- 
fiscations of  the  Inquisition  went  entirely,  or  at  least  in  part,  to 
enrich  the  church.  This  is  far  from  the  truth — the  church  never 
received  a  cent.  The  whole  amount  went  into  the  royal  treasury. 
At  first,  under  the  plea  of  devoting  it  to  the  Holy  War  against  the 
Moslems,  Ferdinand  even  asked  the  Pope  to  allow  the  clergy 
employed  by  the  Inquisition  to  retain  their  benefices;  later  on  he 
made  the  additional  demand  that  in  every  cathedral  chapter  one 
benefice  should  be  given  to  the  Inquisition.  Even  the  inquisitors 
had  no  interests,  received  no  moiety  of  these  fines;  they  had  a  fixed 
salary,  often  but  poorly  paid.  It  was  the  constant  complaint  of 
the  Spanish  king,  that  the  Pope,  by  receiving  appeals,  by  granting 
secret  absolution,  etc.,  defrauded  the  Spanish  treasury. 

The  fact  that  all  confiscated  property  went  to  the  royal  treas- 
ury explains  the  singular  custom  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  of  bring- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

ing  suit  for  heresy  and  apostasy  against  persons  dead  and  already 
judged  by  God,  and,  when  convicted,  burning  them  in  effigy;  it 
was  to  confiscate  the  property  for  the  king.  The  Popes  very  often 
interfered  in  such  cases. 

The  first  victims  of  the  Inquisition  were,  as  stated,  the 
Maranos — not  Jews,  but  apostate  Chr  stians,  either  descendants  of 
converted  Jews  or  gained  over  to  Judaism  through  the  active 
propaganda  then  carried  on.  Their  number  was  greatly  increased 
when,  March  31,  1492,  the  well-known  edict  was  published  by 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  banishing  all  Jews  from  Spain  in  the  short 
space  of  four  months.  Although  the  conspiracy  of  the  Jews  and 
Maranos,  of  Toledo,  to  massacre  the  Christians  of  that  city  on 
Corpus  Christi,  1485,  is  a  historical  fact,  although  there  may  have 
been  other  excesses,  no  excuse  existed  for  the  cruel  decree,  much 
less  the  cruel  restrictions  to  the  short  time  of  four  months,  and  to 
the  conversion  of  their  property.  Not  800,000,  as  Llorente  lies, 
but  100,000  according  to  the  detailed  census  of  Fereras,  or  at 
most  160,000  souls — 30,000  to  35,000  families,  according  to  Pres- 
cott,  quoting  Bernaldez — left  Spain,  many  suffering  untold  hard- 
ships, many  perishing.  Many  remained,  or  returned,  and  at  least 
outwardly  became  Christians. 

The  Moriscos,  or  converted  Moslems,  were  treated  with  far 
greater  mildness  by  the  Inquisition.  Granada  fell  in  1492.  After 
the  revolt  of  the  Abaycim,  the  Alpuxarras,  especially  the  bloody 
revolt  and  slaughter  of  the  Sierra  Vermejo,  all  Moslems  of  these 
districts,  who  did  not  become  Christians,  were  banished  from  Spain; 
the  same  decree  was  extended  to  all  southern  provinces  shortly 
afterward,  while  in  the  northern  provinces  they  were  not  molested; 
nearly  all  became  Christians.  Considering  the  many  bloody  insur- 
rections, the  intimate  religious,  family,  and  tribal  relations  of  the 
Moors  of  Spain  with  those  of  northern  Africa  since  the  time  of  the 
Amoravides  and  Almohades,  we  cannot  call  this  a  cruel  or  unjust 
decree;  the  terrible  battles  of  Bajados,  Ucles.  Alcaros  and  Naves 
de  Tolosa  were  still  remembered.  We  have  the  public  declaration 
of  these  Moriscos,  made  in  1524  to  the  fifth  Grand  Inquisitor  Man- 
rique,  "  that  they  had  always  been  treated  kindly  and  protected 
by  the  Inquisition."     It  is  certain  that  till  the  latter  part   of  the 

1667) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

reign  of  Philip  II  they  were  never  put  to  death,  although  they  had 
repeatedly  apostatized.  A  special  law  also  decreed  that  their 
property  should  not  be  confiscated;  in  all  cases  it  had  to  be  pre- 
served for  their  children.      Torture,  also,  was  not  allowed. 

The  Inquisition  had  a  far  more  extensive  jurisdiction  than  is 
generally  supposed;  it  is  a  great  error  to  consider  the  victims  of 
the  Inquisition  poor  heretics  who  died  for  their  honest  convictions. 
If  we  except  the  Maranos,  very  few  indeed  were  sentenced  to  the 
stake  for  heresy  or  apostasy;  by  far  the  greatest  number  were 
sentenced  for  other  crimes.  Even  Llorente  gives  us  documentary 
proof  that  the  Inquisition  was  the  regular  state  court  in  the  follow- 
ing cases:  ist.  It  had  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all  its  officials 
and  servants  in  all  cases.  When  we  remember  that  these  for  some 
time  numbered  25,000,  and  that  it  was  inexorable  death  if  any  of 
these  were  guilty  of  the  least  immorality  with  a  female  prisoner,  it 
requires  no  stretch  of  imagination  to  understand  that  quite  a  num- 
ber of  victims  were  officers  and  servants  of  the  Inquisition.  2d. 
It  had  jurisdiction  over  all  crimes  connected  with  the  Inquisition; 
for  example,  the  murderers  of  the  Inquisitor  Arbues,  the  revolt  in 
Cordova  led  by  the  Marquis  of  Priguas,  releasing  the  prisoners  of 
the  Inquisition,  false  witnesses  testifying  before  the  Inquisition. 
3d.  All  unnatural  crimes  against  morality.  All  over  Europe  these 
crimes  were  punished  by  death;  generally  the  guilty  ones  were 
sentenced  to  the  stake.  4th.  All  cases  of  bigamy.  All  over 
Europe  these  were  punished  by  death. 

The  intercourse  and  association  with  the  Mahometans  made 
this  crime  more  prevalent  in  Spain  than  in  any  other  Christian 
country;  thus,  for  example,  in  the  auto-de-fe  at  Murcia,  1560, 
seven  were  burned  for  bigamy;  in  1563,  thirteen;  and  a  number  at 
nearly  every  auto-de-fe.  5th.  All  bad  priests  and  confessors. 
6th.  All  imposters  who  exercised  sacerdotal  functions;  all  who 
falsely  pretended  to  be  officers  of  the  Inquisition.  7th.  All  blas- 
phemy, stealing,  or  embezzling  church  property,  usury,  even 
smuggling  goods  contraband  of  war.  8th.  All  imposters  who 
pretended  to  be  saints  and  work  miracles;  for  instance,  Magdalene 
of  the  Cross.  9th.  All  witches  and  sorcerers.  Many  who  were 
executed   for    witchcraft,  especially    in    the    seventeenth    century, 

(668)~ 


IN    Till-:    STATE    OF    INDIANA, 

were  innocent;  the  rack  extorted   confessions   that   were    not  true; 
in  cases  of  possession,  obsession,  and  vexation  by  the  devil,  many 
made    absolutely     false    assertions    in    declaring    that    they    were 
bewitched.      It  cannot  be  denied    that   the   deliberate   intention  to 
make  a  compact  with  the  devil,  the  deliberate  signing  with   one's 
own  blood  or  such  a  compact,    was  criminal  intent — was  a  crime. 
When  we  bear  in  mind  that  all    witches   thought  it   their  duty   to 
hurt  others,  and  were  in  nearly  all  aittluiitic  cases  guilty  of  mur- 
der by  poisoning,  we   cannot  declare   a   court    unjust   which    upon 
full  proof  punishes  according  to  the  criminal  law  of   the  time  such 
criminal  intent  and  attempt,  but  this  full  proof  was  often  wanting. 
In  Salem,  Mass.,   1692,  twenty  persons  lost   their  lives,  one   hun- 
dred   and    fifty    were    imprisoned,  and    two    hundred    more   were 
accused,  as  a  craze  and  deception  starting  from  acaseof  obsession. 
In  England,  during  the    Long  parliament,  three   thousand  witches 
were  executed;  in  Essex  and  Suffolk,  in  two  years,  two  hundred. 
In  Scotland,  according  to  a  letter  of   Howell  to  Lord  Spencer,  on 
an  average  seven  persons   were   daily   executed   as  witches  during 
the  civil  wars  of  the  Long  parliament.      Barrington  and  other  writ- 
ers give  the  number  of  witches  executed   in   England  and  Scotland 
from  the  twentieth  of    Henry   M  to    1736    as   thirty    thousand — as 
many  victims  as  Llorente  claims   for   the   Spanish    Inquisition,  for 
all    causes  combined,    during   a   longer   period    of  existence.   ,  We 
must,  however,  bear  in  mind    that  England  and  Scotland  had  only 
a  population  of  three  to  four  million.    Spain  and  her  colonies  more 
than  three  times  that  number.      The   last   witch    burned    was  in   a 
Protestant  canton   in   Switzerland   in    1782.      As  to  the  burning  of 
witches   Spain  will   compare  very  favorably  with  other  countries. 
The  Jesuit  Frederick  Spee  was  the  first  to  write  against  the  burn- 
ing of  witches,  seventy   years   before    the    Protestant   Thomasius. 
lOth.      The  Inquisition  had  also   jurisdiction  in  cases  of  forgery  of 
public  documents  and  counterfeiting  the  money  of  the   realm;  the 
punishment  for  both  crimes  was  death    in    all  European  countries. 
We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  criminal  code  of  the  three  preced- 
ing centuries  was  far  more  severe  than  at  present;  thus  in  England 
the  theft   of  one   shilling   was   grand    larceny  and   punishable  with 


(669) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

imprisonment  and   death;   the  theft    of  one  sheep   has  often  been 
punished  with  death  in  England. 

Even  if  we  should  admit  the  number  of  victims  of  the  Inqui- 
sition during  the  three  hundred  and  thirty  years  of  its  existence  to 
be  30,000,  and  deduct   from   this   number   all   those  who   suffered 
death  on  account  of  the   crimes  mentioned,  the  number  of  those 
burned  for  hersey  will  be  found  to  be  exeedingly  small.      But  then 
the  number  given  by  Llorente  is  not  correct;  we  have  already  seen 
that  he  gives  the  number  of  the  first  tribunal   of  Seville  as  2,000, 
when  in  another  place  he   admits  that  it  was   only  298 — a  nearly 
sevenfold   exaggeration.      During   the   time   of  Torquemada,  until 
1498,  he  gives  in   one   place    10,200,  in   another   8,800;  according 
to  the  historians  and  documents  he   quotes,  the   true  number  was 
about  2,000— a  more  than   fourfold  exaggeration.      Llorente   him- 
self tells  us  that  his  numbers  are  mere   guesswork,  and   not   based 
on  documentary  proof;  thus  he   pretends  to   have  some  reason  to 
believe  that  the  tribunal  of  Seville   from    1482   to    1488  annually 
condemned  eighty-eight  persons   to   death;  when  three  provincial 
tribunals  were  established  he  guesses  that  each  condemned   about 
half  that  number;  when  these  tribunals  increased  to  the  number  of 
twelve,  he  still  assigned  to  each  the   same   number   of  victims;  for 
the  five  tribunals  in  the   kingdom   of  Aragon  he  assigns  the  same 
amount  of  Maranos  burned  at  the  stake,  forgetting  altogether  that 
very  few   Jews  or   Maranos  were   found   in   Aragon,  Cataluna,    or 
Gallicia— where  there  were  only  thirteen  synagogues.      He   admits 
that  Cardinal  Ximenes  softened  the  Inquisition,  deposed  cruel,  bad 
of^ficials,  like  Lucero,  inquisitor  of  Cordova,  that  he  pardoned  many, 
etc. ;  yet  he   computes  as   many  victims  annually  burned  as  under 
Torquemada  and  Deza.      He  computes  the  same  number  of  victims 
under   the    mild    Hadrian,    and    under   the   still    milder    Manrique. 
Truth  compels  us  to  say  that  the  procedure  of  the  Inquisition  was 
not   so  cruel  as  writers   of  romance   would  make   us  believe.      A 
period  of  grace  was  always  announced — often  a  second  and  some- 
times a  third,  as  in  Toledo  when  the  tribunal  was  established  there; 
even  if  all  these  periods  of  grace  had  been  allowed  to  pass  by, 
young  persons  under  twenty  were  received  and   absolved.      These 
periods  of  grace  gave  those  who  knew  themselves  guilty  an  opportu- 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

nity  to  save  themselves  and  their  property  by  llight,  (jr  by  obtaining 
absolution.  Deza,  considered  to  be  the  cruelest  f^rand  inquisitor, 
gave  the  order  that  no  one  should  be  arrested  for  blasphemy  uttered 
in  the  heat  of  passion — a  rule  more  mild  than  in  other  countries; 
no  one  could  be  arrested  unless  good  testimony  against  him  existed 
and  was  presented. 

The  unanimous  consent  of  all  the  judges  of  the  tribunal  was 
required  to  order  an  arrest,  otherwise  the  case  had  to  be  referred 
to  the  supreme  tribunal.  The  prisons  of  the  Inciuisition  in  Spain 
were  far  better  than  those  of  any  other  country  of  Europe  at  that 
time;  many  sentenced  to  imprisonment  were  sent  to  convents  to 
be  instructed  and  to  do  ecclesiastical  penance.  Sometimes  their 
ow^n  house  and  home  was  their  prison.  The  accuser  had  to  take 
an  oath  that  he  was  not  led  by  hatred  and  malice,  and  a  false  oath 
was  severely  punished.  Leo  X  demanded  the  death  penalty;  in 
Toledo,  I  559,  false  witnesses  received  400  lashes  and  were  sent  to 
the  galleys  for  four  years.  It  is  true  the  name  of  the  accuser  was 
not  given,  but  this  was  to  prevent  Spanish  revenge;  it  was  only  law 
when  the  accused  was  a  powerful  noble  or  prelate.  P>ut  then  the 
accused  could  name  his  enemies,  whose  testimony  was  then 
entirely  invalid;  he  could  demand  a  change  of  venue  from  one  or 
all  the  judges  of  a  tribunal,  and  the  supreme  tribunal  had  to  send 
other  judges;  the  proceedings  had  to  be  communicated  to  him 
twice.  Llorente  gives  us  examples  where  witnesses  for  the  defense 
were  brought  from  as  far  as  America  to  Spain.  It  is  true  the  rack 
was  used  in  Spain;  but  it  was  also  in  all  countries  of  Europe,  and 
later  in  England  than  in  Spain.  In  Spain  it  could  be  used  only 
once,  and  in  the  presence  of  two  priests  not  belonging  to  the 
Inquisition.  In  the  Tower  of  London  the  rack,  scavenger's  daugh- 
ter, thumbscrews,  used  as  instruments  of  torture  in  times  past,  are 
still  on  exhibition,  to  which  even  women  were  subjected,  and  which 
were  not  abolished  till  1772  (12th, George  III).  Massachusetts, also, 
had  its  witchcraft  trials:  Giles  Coag,  eighty  years  old,  was  pressed 
to  death. 

A  ghastly  picture  is  generally  formed  of  an  auto-de-fe.  We 
recall  to  mind  Prescott's  description  of  it:  A  grand  human  holo- 
caust  conducted    with  the  utmost  splendor;    a    grand    procession 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

—  bishops,    priests,    all    the    nobility,    yea,    even     royalty,    pres- 
ent;   then   so   many   hundred   victims  at  each   auto-de-fe,    and  of 
course  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  all  were  burned,  the  Spaniards 
sitting  around  enjoying  the  groans,  and  sniffing  like  sweet  perfume 
the  smell  of  the  burning  flesh.      It  is  but  fiction   and    not  historic 
truth.      True,  an  auto-de-fe  was  always  celebrated  with  great  sol- 
emnity and  pomp;  true,  there  were  often  many  hundred  "  victims," 
but  nothing  was  burned  but  the  candle  the   penitent  carried  in  his 
hand.      Thus,  at  an  auto-de-fe  in  Toledo,  February  12,  i486,  there 
were  750  "  victims:"   not  one  was  sentenced  to  death — to  nothing 
more  than  an  ecclesiastical  penance.      At  a  second,  900  "  victims," 
and  not  one  sentenced  to  death;   again    750,  and   yet    again    950; 
not  one  was  burned.      Prescott  speaks  of  3,327  judged  in  little  more 
than  a  year  in  one  tribunal;  but  he  forgets  to  add  that  of  this  large 
number  only  twenty-seven,  mostly  criminals  who  conspired  to  mur- 
der Christians  of  Toledo  in    1485,  were  sentenced   to  death.      An 
auto-de-fe  was  a  solemn  publication  of  the  sentence  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion.     Out   of    the    hundreds    of    "  victims  "  the    majority    were 
declared  innocent;  a  great  many   received  absolution;  some   were 
sentenced  to  ecclesiastical  penance  or  imprisonment,  endured  often 
.in  the  best  convents,  or  even  in  their  own  houses  and  homes;  some- 
times, but  rarely,  a  few,   mostly  guilty  of  the   crimes  mentioned 
above,  were  handed  over  to  the  lay  judges  of  the  Inquisition  with 
a  recommendation  to  mercy,  and  generally  these  few  were  executed 
the  next  day.      It   was  the  custom   to   strangle   them  before   they 
were  burned — a  custom  far  more  humane  than  the  English  drawing 
and  quartering. 

In  regard  to  the  san  benito  (blessed  sackcloth)  and  the 
penance,  used  in  the  auto-de-fe  ceremony,  it  was  the  universal 
custom  in  the  church  to  do  penance  in  a  coarse  garment — sack- 
cloth— which  was  blessed,  and  had  a  different  color  in  differ- 
ent countries:  in  Spain  it  was  yellow.  In  the  middle  ages  it 
was  not  expected  to  do  penance  in  grand  uniform,  m  silk  and 
satin;  neither  was  it  considered  a  disgrace  to  do  penance.  The 
great  Emperor  Theodosius  did  public  penance  in  sackcloth;  so 
did  Henry  IV.,  Henry  III,  and  Henry  III  of  Germany;  Louis 
the  Saint,   of  France,   often  performed,    voluntarily,    public    pen- 


IN    Till':    STATE    Oi'    INDIANA. 

ance,  yea,  even  allowed  himself  t(j  b3  scourged  by  his  father 
confessor.  Nobody  saw  in  it  a  disgrace;  oiil}-  the  piety  of  the 
prince  was  admired.  Llorente  gives  us  examples  of  members  of 
the  royal  family  wearing  the  san  benito  and  receiving  absolution, 
as,  for  instance,  Prince  James  of  Aragon;  of  some  who  were  thus 
absolved  and  yet  so  little  disgraced  that  they  intermarried  with  the 
highest  nobility,  yea,  even  with  the  royal  family;  of  some  who  had 
been  absolved  de  gravi  and  afterward  attained  the  highest  offices 
in  the  church  as  well  as  in  the  state. 

It  is  painful  for  a  man  of  honor  and  truth  to  see  the  false- 
hoods written  about  the  Inquisition;  it  is  still  more  painful  to  be 
made  accountable  for  all  real  and  imagined  evils  of  the  Spanish 
state  Inquisition,  when  the  popes  and  bishops  were  constantly 
fighting  it  during  the  whole  time  of  its  existence. 

It  can  only  be  added  here  that  this  admirable  digest  by  Bishop 
Dwenger  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  should  set  at  rest  forever  the 
false  and  injurious  impressions  relating  to  it  that  rest  in  the  minds 
of  the  uninformed. 


((>73) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

RETROSPECT,  SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION THE  SPIRITUAL,  EDUCA- 
TIONAL AND  MATERIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN 
THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA    IS    ONE    GLOWING    FACT. 

IN  the  preceding  chapters,  the  first  and  second  excepted,  since 
they  are  general  in  their  scope,  the  writers  have  attempted  to 
plainly  and  simply  recount  the  greater  number,  if  not  all,  of  the 
principal  facts  and  events  connected  with  the  existence  of  the 
Catholic  church  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  especially  during  the  past 
sixty-four  years. 

They  have  not,  it  is  true,  employed  the  old-time  fine-toothed 
rake  with  which  to  collect  their  information.  There  was  no  need 
for  this  close  scraping.  They  preferred  to  leave  minor  details  and 
the  little  things  to  those  who  have  a  taste  for  trifles.  The  best 
reason  for  their  choosing  so  to  do  is  the  generally  accepted  rule 
that  while  great  and  prominent  men  are  the  chief  actors  in  all  the 
dramas  that  are  written  and  called  history,  their  every  act  is  by  no 
means  worthy  of  record.  Moreover,  if  all  were  recorded  that 
great  and  good  men  in  state  and  church  have  said  and  done,  their 
greatness  and  goodness  might,  to  a  degree,  vanish  in  the  estimation 
of  the  reader,  if  not  of  the  writer.  It  were  well,  therefore,  to  con- 
sider the  fact  that  history  has  reference  principally  to  humans  and 
human  affairs. 

While  cautious  and  choice  as  to  this  matter,  the  authors  have 
also  been  careful  as  to  the  order  in  which  they  have  tried  to  pre- 
sent that  matter.  It  will  be  seen  that  they  have  not  adopted  any 
arbitrary  arrangement  that  might  be  in  conflict  with  the  natural 
current  of  events — with  the  order  of  the  facts.      They  commenced 


IN    THli    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

with  the  first   tangible  beginning,  and  have  kept  botli  the  starting 
point  and  the  material  in  view  all  the  way  through. 

Nevertheless,  what  they  have  deemed  worthy  of  setting  down 
and  preserving  may  not  include  all  the  facts  and  events  that  others 
would  pass  upon  as  meriting  attention,  were  they  engaged  in  the 
preparation  of  this  history.  Indeed,  the  authors  do  not  hope  that 
each  critic,  whether  lay  or  cleric,  will  in  every  instance  unqualifiedly 
endorse  their  judgment  or  their  methods.  It  would  be  unreasonable 
to  expect  this.  But  having  gathered  together  and  piled  up  in  mound- 
shape,  so  to  speak,  what  they  believe  to  be  the  most  important 
facts,  they  would,  in  company  with  their  readers,  stand  apart,  afar 
off,  and  survey  the  things  garnered  and  also  the  field. 

Isaias,  prophetically  speaking  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  refers 
to  it  as  a  mountain  upon  the  top  of  mountains,  exposed  to  the  gaze 
of  all  nr^tions,  and  impossible  to  be  hidden.  The  prophet's 
figurative  idea  holds  respecting  that  same  Church  of  Christ  to-day 
in  the  limited  territory  of  the  commonwealth  of  Indiana.  It  can- 
not be  overlooked  or  hidden  It  is  the  most  important  and  prom- 
inent institution  in  the  state.  It  is  older  than  the  state.  It 
is  above  the  state.  It  conserves  the  state.  It  loves  the 
state.  The  oneness  of  the  Catholic  church  makes  it  specially 
distinct  from  the  diversified  and  discordant  organizations  which 
assume  to  be  Christian  churches,  but  which  are  exotics  in  the  vine- 
yard. Its  teachings  are  singularly  in  contrast  with  those  of  the 
sects  touching  not  only  the  mysteries  and  sacraments,  but  also  the 
question  of  divorce,  which  glaring  immorality  would  appear  to  be 
epidemic  in  our  midst.      The  court  records  afford  the  proofs. 

An  instance  of  unusual  note  is  the  case  of  a  prominent  Indian- 
apolis wholesale  merchant  who  was  divorced  from  his  wife;  having 
procured  a  new  one,  he  went  to  his  church  the  following  Sunday, 
only  to  find  that' his  former  wife  had  likewise  remarried  and  become 
the  wife  of  a  prominent  physician,  also  a  member  of  the  congregation. 
The  children  of  these  divorced  parents  were  not  present  to  complete 
the  scene,  but  the  preacher  who  united  and  reunited  them  in  the 
"  holy  bonds  of  matrimony  "  was  in  the  prayer-box,  Bible  in  hand, as 
if  anxious    to   furnish   material   for  the  back-ground.      There  is  no 


(675) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

record  f^oing  to  show  that  this  minister  selected  for  his  text  the  words, 
"  He  that  marrieth  her  that  is  put  away  also  committeth  adultery." 
Some  people  find  it  easy  enough  to  forgive  Martin  Luther  for 
fi"-hting  the  Pope  and  the  Catholic  church  in  an  effort  to  make 
religion  easier  to  practice,  and  therefore  to  bring  heaven  just  out- 
side the  garden' gate.  There  are  those,  too,  who  do  not  find  it 
difficult  to  overlook  the  intensity,  severity  and  unchristian  bitter- 
ness, even  to  the  point  of  no  mercy,  that  characterized  John  Cal- 
vin and  his  Scotch  disciple,  John  Knox.  Others  also  are  numer- 
ous who  overlook  doctrine  and  truth  and  reason  while  contemplat- 
ing the  long-facedness  of  John  Wesley  and  the  sanctimoniousness  of 
all  the  old  "  Reformers,"  and  those  of  their  modern  representatives. 
But  when  men  come  to  regard  the  terrible  effects,  traceable  to  the 
"Reformation  '"  and  the  reformers  as  their  cause — effects  seen  in 
the  throwing  of  the  reins  on  passion's  neck;  in  the  granting  of 
divorce  by  courts  and  the  sanctioning  of  it  by  society;  in  the 
prevalence  of  irreligion  and  the  grossest  immorality  and  dishonesty 
they  begin  to  look  up  to  the  "  Mountain  on  the  top  of  mount- 
ains"— to  the  church  which  cannot  be  hidden,  and  against  which 
the  gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail.  It  is  under  such  circumstances 
that  the  mother  church,  the  teacher  of  all  truth,  looms  grandly 
into  view. 

But  passing  by  the    doctrinal   feature  and    regarding  it  some- 
what in  the   tangible  order,    the   Catholic   church    in  Indiana  has 
still  strong  claims  upon   the  attention  of  our   fellow-citi;^ens.      Its 
319  church-edifices  have  spires  that  lift  high  before  the  gaze  of  the 
people  the  venerated  sign  of  salvation,  the  Cross  of  the  Redeemer. 
And  what  is  most  remarkable  about  these  edifices,  these  spires  and 
this  cross,  is  the  fact  that  they  are   never  mistaken   even  by   non- 
Catholics.      In   recent    years   Protestant  meeting-houses,    in   many 
instances,  have  a  cross  on  tower  or   spire;  but  there   is  something 
that  somehow  tells    of  inharmony  and   the   unfitness  of    its  being 
there.      When   Protestantism   in    England    and   on   the    continent 
abolished  the  mass  it  abolished  the  cross  with  it,  and  that  abolish- 
ment was,  until  recently,  in  force  even  among  our  own  New  Eng- 
land colonists.      [See  Chapter  II.] 

In  the  temporalities  the  Catholic  church  is  a  very  important 

(676r 


IN    TIIK    STATE    OF    INDIANA. 

aiul  proininciil  institulion  in  Indiana.  It  has  a  nieinbership  of  not 
less  than  225,000  souls,  with  two  bishops,  each  presidinj,'^  in  his 
own  diocese.  It  has  331  priests,  3i9churches,  174  .schools,  thirty 
academies  for  young  ladies,  one  university,  four  orphan  asylums 
and  fully  30,000  Catholic  youths  under  the  tutelage  and  guidance 
of  over  1,300  religious  teachers  in  both  schools  and  colleges. 

Its  educational  work  is  not  confined  to  the  head  or  the  heart, 
but  includes  both,  for  it  is  impossible  to  make  good  men  and 
women,  good  fathers  and  mothers — good  citizens — by  educating 
the  head  alone.  The  heart,  also,  must  be  attended  to.  Virtue 
must  be  cultivated  lest  the  intellect  be  a  power  for  evil  rather  than 
good.  The  swindler,  the  defaulting  bank  official  and  the  faithless 
manager  of  this  or  that  large  interest,  are  untrue  to  their  trusts 
only  in  so  far  as  the  supernatural  virtues  have  not  been  cultivated 
by  them.  Catholic  education  aims  to  draw  out  the  mental  powers 
of  the  individual  at  the  same  time  that  it  instills  into  the  heart  those 
virtues  which  ratain  and  correct  evil  tendencies.  Even  non-Cath- 
olics freely  admit  this  to  be  one  among  the  great  labors  and 
achievements  of  the  Catholic  church.  It  has  made  remarkable 
material  progress  during  the  past  sixty-four  years,  and  it  is  daily 
pressing  onward,  one  might  say  irresistibly,  in  the  work  of  the 
Master,  in  the  active  charities  which  appeal  to  men  and  of  which 
it  has  been  the  real  parent  in  every  age  and  clime.  The  higher 
charity,  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks,  is  the  very  essence  of  the  teach- 
ings and  practice  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Its  members  constitute  the  only  united  and  consistent  body 
of  Christians  in  the  state,  because  they  acknowledge  one  head 
whom  they  obey,  and  because  they  have  the  same  doctrines  and 
practices  touching  faith  and  worship.  While  they  may  possibly  be 
disunited  in  other  respects  and  be  separated  or  even  opposed  to  one 
another  through  diversity  of  interests  or  other  considerations,  yet,  in 
regard  to  the  church  and  its  teachings  they  are  of  one  mind — a  unit 
in  the  faith. 

The  Catholic  church,  as  a  teaching  body,  concerns  itself  not 
alone  about  the  spiritual  welfare  of  its  children,  and,  indeed,  like- 
wise about  that  of  the  whole  human  family,  but  it  also  teaches 
sound  doctrine  touching   the   permanency  and  justness  of  govern- 

(677) 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 


merits  and  their  institutions.  Hence  with  St.  Paul  it  holds  that  all 
legitimate  authority  and  power  are  from  God.  The  state  is  the 
handiwork  of  God.  and,  therefore,  the  church,  which  is  His  mouth- 
piece, keeps  its  children  steadfast  in  their  duty  toward  the  state, 
teaching  them  the  necessity  and  duty  of  obeying  all  properly  con- 
stituted authority.  In  view  of  these  facts  the  occupation  of  all 
bigots  and  bearers  of  false  witness  against  the  church  and  their 
Catholic  fellow-citizens  is  gone— gone  in  every  department  of  human 
society,  except  where  ignorance  predominates.  It  is  only  the 
ignorant  man  who  will  proscribe  his  Catholic  neighbor,  and  it  is 
only   the   ignorant   community  that  will   discriminate  against  the 

Catholic  church. 

In  the  state  of  Indiana,  as,  indeed,  everywhere  else,  the  status 
of  the  Catholic  church  is  the  very  highest.  And  how  it  could  be 
otherwise  is  mysterious  only  among  the  uninformed  and  prejudiced. 
To  that  church,  not  alone  locally,  but  generally,  the  citizen  may 
look  for  wnse  counsel  on  those  questions  regarding  which  both  indi- 
viduals and  political  parties  are  most  likely  to  go  astray.  In  thus 
looking  to  this  great  teacher  for  light  and  direction  men  are  not 
likely  to  be  deceived.  The  church  that  cannot  err  in  matters  of 
faith  and  morals  is  also  possessed  of  such  a  degree  of  wisdom 
respecting  temporal  things  that  confidence  in  her  guidance  and 
judgment  is  at  all  times  wise. 

The  Catholic  church  the  world  over  conserves  all  rights  of 
both  individuals  and  states  and  allows  for  all  peculiarities  of  times. 
countries  and  races.  The  throb  of  her  pure  spiritual  life  and  light 
is  felt  by  every  nation  and  tribe  and  tongue  under  heaven.  She 
knows  them  all;  and  if  some  do  not  know  her  fully,  the  fault  is  their 
inattention.  Hence  that  great  church  knows  what  breeds  anarchy 
and  what  anarchy  feeds  upon.  She  knows  human  weakness  and 
is  well  acquainted  with  the  promptings  of  the  human  heart. 
Touching  the  temporalities  that  hold  and  sway  men,  she  is  eter- 
nally and  unalterably  fixed  in  her  rulings.  She  rules  on  all  ques- 
tions without  fear  or  favor,  desiring  only  that  justice  be  done. 
The  rights  of  property,  the  right  to  rule  and  the  corresponding  duty 
on  the  part  of  the  people  to  obey  are  all  within  the  scope  of  her 
wisdom  and  her  teachings.      The  Catholic  church  is  always  in  favor 

(678) 


IN    THE    STATE    OF    INDIANA, 

of  law  and   j^ood   order,  and,  consequently,  she   is  the   enemy  to 
anarchy  and  all  approaches  to  lawlessness. 

Government  among  men  being  essential,  and  the  best  interests 
of  society  demanding  that  governments  be  stable  and  just,  of  neces- 
sity it  is  a  part  of  the  mission  of  the  church  to  concern  itself  with 
these  important  affairs,  at  least  indirectly.  Not  alone,  therefore, 
on  the  high  ground  of  God's  law  and  oi  morals  does  the  Catholic 
church  oppose  the  sin  of  divorce  in  Indiana  and  elsewhere;  she  is 
also  against  the  bad  practice  for  the  sufficient  temporal  reason  that 
it  disrupts  the  family.  And  since  the  state  rests  upon  the  family  as 
upon  its  corner-stone,  the  church  would  preserve  the  unity  of  the 
family  that  the  state  might  be  maintained  in  its  security  and  strength. 
When  a  blow  is  aimed  at  the  family — the  hearthstone — it  is  directed 
also  against  the  state  and  in  favor  of  anarchy.  The  wisdom  of  the 
church  in  temporal  things  being  happily  united  with  its  sound  teach- 
ings on  the  sacrament  of  matrimony  and  the  sacredness  of  the  home, 
enables  it  to  sound  a  warning  note  to  the  people  and  to  point  out 
the  dangers  which  beset  them  and  the  state. 

Along  this  line  of  thought  the  men  of  America  who  have 
attained  to  any  great  degree  of  eminence  in  statecraft  have  not 
been  slow  to  express  their  approval  of  the  status  and  influence  of 
the  Catholic  church.  It  is,  as  it  has  ever  been,  a  great  conserva- 
tive force — a  power  for  good  in  the  estimation  of  men  who  can 
and  do  think.  The  community  in  which  the  church  has  a  strong 
hold  and  a  wide  field  is  always  the  better  for  its  presence  there. 
Virtues  of  all  kinds  are  practiced  more  generally  and  attentively, 
especially  those  of  purity  and  honesty. 

Good  order  and  good  morals  may  be  occasionally  disturbed 
and  shocked  locally  by  the  antics  of  some  few  unfortunates  who 
have  become  the  victims  of  the  vice  of  intemperance,  and  who 
with  all  their  imperfections  will  still  claim  a  child's  relationship 
with  the  holy  mother  church.  In  thus  clinging  to  the  church  these 
weak  ones  do  well,  for  they  have  been  taug'nt  that  the  Master 
came  not  to  call  the  just,  but  sinners,  to  repentance.  The  church, 
however,  is  not  to  be  charged  with  their  sins,  nor  should  she  be  at 
all  discredited  on  account  of  their  imperfections.  Obeying  her, 
these  persons  might  lead  pure  and  holy  lives,  but  disobeying  her 


A    HISTORY    OF    CATHOLICITY 

commands  they  unfortunately  are  paving  the  way  for  their  own 
ultimate  destruction  by  scandalizing  others  and  by  giving  the 
ignorant  and  the  prejudiced  an  opportunity  to  almost  assert  that 
the  spouse  of  Christ  encourages  the  sin  of  drunkenness. 

The  few  individual  Catholics  in  Catholic  communities  who 
are  a  discredit  to  the  church  are  noticeable  only  because  the  church 
is  pure,  and  Catholics  are  expected  to  be  pure  also.  Those  of 
other  denominations,  overcome  by  such  imperfections,  are  never 
charged  up  to  the  discredit  of  their  so-called  churches.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  it  were  to  no  purpose  to  do  so.  Where 
nothing  is  expected  no  anxiety  is  present  and  nothing  is  done. 

But  the  church  needs  no  defense  among  the  intelligent  because 
some  few  of  her  children  will  wander  from  the  path  of  duty.  Her 
mission  is  to  deal  with  sinners,  and  those  who  charge  this  to  her 
discredit  are  of  the  same  ilk  as  those  who,  in  the  sense  of  accusa- 
tion, found  fault  with  her  Divine  Founder  for  associating  with 
publicans  and  sinners.  The  work  of  the  Catholic  church  is  man- 
ifest in  every  community.  The  labors  and  good  example  of  her 
teachers  and  religious  orders  are  as  beacon  lights  to  the  people  of 
all  denominations.  Ever  active,  always  doing,  never  deviating 
from  the  course  marked  out  for  her,  the  Catholic  church  in  Indi- 
ana, as  well  as  in  every  country  of  the  earth,  merits  the  confidence, 
support  and  respect  of  governments  and  peoples  as  well  as  of  indi- 
viduals. 


(680) 


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